Zagreus: Prince of the Underworld
by Athena the Wisdom Goddess
Summary: After a century, Zagreus, the son of Hades, woke up from his slumber with a vague memory of his past. He is transported into a foreign place only to learn shocking changes in the Greek Pantheon. He ends up accepting a quest that would answer his past and possibly lead him to the gates of the gods.
1. Chapter 1

_ My memories moved like ripples on water as stones jumped forth on its surface, until they vanished – forever unseen. The scenes were shown like blurry photographs casting white smoke on its sides. People's faces were filled with grief. I was at the cemetery again. The atmosphere was cold and grey, fog covered the small plot of land. Their women wrapped their shawls around their shoulders as they wept. The men tug their coats, glancing from one face to another. A silver overcast hovered over a lone coffin, surrounded by grievers and planked by two grave diggers. They all had a familiar look on their face, like death was something they did not fathom but nonetheless, inevitable. The face of the ghost was as unclear as my memory. The gravestones looked much lighter against the bleakness of the scene in front of me. _

_ "Let us go," my companion said in his deep and silky voice. His face and name slowly disappeared from the recess of my mind. All I could see was that he reached a dark hand towards the featureless ghost, then tapped my shoulder. The world turned black as we faded. That was all that is to remember from that time, the final moment I had in the mortal world. The events that took toll after that dissipated every time I tried to reach for them. I must have sunk into a deep sleep – dreams fleeting in and out, but never concrete._

* * *

I could not remember the very moment that I opened my eyes. The very first memory that appeared was the shabby rooftop. I sat on the edge of the rooftop, which seems to be a very old building, judging from the paint cracks on the wall. It made me wonder why of all places, I woke up here. My energy wavered, feeling a wave of energy vanish within me.

Huge structures of concrete loomed ahead. The bright lights from the city emitted an unfamiliar energy, far from _London_, the last city I could remember. It was weird that I was able to grasp at that memory, it failed me each time I tried to reach beyond the moments beyond that time.

The air was thick with vapor. People on the streets continued to chatter as they blew their knuckles and stuffed their hands into their pockets. The cold did not bother me, I enjoyed its presence.

I could feel movement below me and there were also sudden flashes of light from the dirty windows. Still, I continued to idly thump my boots against the walls. Above the lights, the skyline turned into a mix of dark blue and purple as the sun completely disappeared beneath the horizon. I kept rethinking why I was here, where was I before this? Surely, I was at a different time. Everything did not feel right.

"Zagreus," a deep monotonous voice called behind me. I looked over my shoulders. I saw a man hiding behind the shadow of a rusty billboard frame. I could faintly see his outline.

"Huh?" I uttered as I slowly stood up, still disoriented and lacking my balance. I walked towards him with uncertainty. He sensed my puzzlement. I did not take long before a hearty laugh escaped him. He must have seen the confusion in my face as he continued to chuckle. But clearly, I was not finding my predicament that amusing.

"I see you have just woken up from your slumber. It seems that you forgot to change your clothes since you slept during that century, eh?" he remarked. I looked at my clothes. I was wearing some black trousers, leather shoes, a crisp shirt with a collar and a frock with a vest underneath. I was fairly sure I lost a hat on the way.

My brows furrowed, pondering why this mysterious shadow man or whatever he was decided to critique my clothes instead of addressing my bewilderment.

"Enough with the mocking, who are you?" I asked tersely.

"Why, don't you remember me?" his voice changed, it was no longer deep and droning. It adapted a much layback and genial tone.

It struck me as condescending, pushing my urge to punch him in the gut once he said another word.

Before I tore into him, he stepped away from the shadows. He was a man in his mid-20s, he wore brown trousers and a white shirt (which did not have a collar, strange). He had magnificent amber eyes and dark brown curly hair. He was lanky but stood with authority. Oddly, his aura felt familiar, yet I could not place a memory of him. Maybe that was why he knew my name, because we have met before.

For moments, I stared at him. At one point, he turned into a ten-year-old so quickly that when I blinked, he was normal again. It was like his form changed in just a snap.

"I could sense your anger Zagreus. Such temper might cause your downfall. But I understand, waking up so suddenly like that could mess up with your mind. You do not appear as if you have entirely lost your memories. Can you remember me?"

Upon hearing his words, my anger boiled down. I realized he knew that I had troubles with my memories. Despite of that, I tried as hard as I can to remember his name.

"No… I don't," I frowned, squeezing my mind to no avail.

"Perhaps you can now," he said as his form changed momentarily. He appeared to be a wizened man that wore a blue cloak. His silver beard glistened against the darkness. His eyes were pure white.

"Wait… your Chronos… the keeper of time," I said, surprised by the sudden flash of memory in my mind. He returned to his younger form.

"That is right Zagreus," he smiled jovially.

"If you are Chronos… then you must know why I am here. What is this place? And why does it feel so wrong to be here?" I asked as I surveyed my surroundings. It was still there, I thought I veil would be lifted when I remembered Chronos' name.

"You have been asleep for a more than a century, Zagreus. This is no longer London, this is New York City," he motioned warily to my surroundings.

For a time, I was no longer concern on where I was. I was sleeping for that long? It felt only hours to me. Maybe was why it was all fuzzy and weird. But why did I sleep for that long? What truly happened to me?

"Di-did I really slept that long?" I thought asking time himself would enlighten me on that matter. He pursed his lips and nodded sadly.

I was growing impatient. I wanted to have definite answers, but he was quite unwilling to give me some. "Why was I transported here out of all place then?" I gave another question a try.

"I have been wondering about that since I woke up. This place is so bright and loud, far from the city I once was in. Perhaps you can somehow fill me in."

Chronos' sympathetic gaze turned into a stormy one, like his magnificent eyes were seeing through a veil of smoke. "There is a reason why you have been transported here Zagreus. I could not tell so much, child," him addressing me as a _child_ sent shivers down my spine for some reason, "like all of the gods, your essence must have been deeply rooted to this place. Your awakening signifies a lot in which you must find out yourself. This is the place of the new and powerful civilization. No doubt on why you have been teleported here more than anywhere."

"The other gods… they are here, but -" the first words felt so sour to say. Before I could finish my question, Chronos' pointed to the tallest building that rose higher than ever against the evening sky. Its spire pierced through the clouds like a bolt of lightning. It glowed gold among the other small buildings around it.

"It's called the Empire State Building," he continued "The Olympians and other minor gods are currently residing there."

"Are you staying there too?"

"I do not. Just like the other protogenoi, I am incorporated into the space which I embody: time. I keep the equilibrium that way just as before, in case you do not remember," he explained. At the mention of _protogenoi _my head buzzed, and I winced. I knew somehow that they were strong forces that bind the universe, a force of order, yet why was I bothered too much by it?

"But from time to time (get it?) I switch to my physical form just to observe certain happenings and to enjoy the food here. Pizza is quite great here by the way," as he said the word pizza, his seriousness broke off. Something about that food must have been magical to disturb a protogenos.

"How did you find me then?" I wondered aloud.

"You are strong to sense Zagreus. Your energy sent tendrils across the space that I am bound to. Morpheus also mentioned a disturbance, though he was so unclear about it. I figured that it was connected to the strange aura I felt, so I followed it. Lo and behold, I have found the son of Hades finally awake from his slumber. But surely, you have not forgotten about your father, or did you?"

I may have been the most oblivious deity in the world, but my mind allowed me to remember even the faintest detail of who I was. I was Zagreus, son of Hades, King of the Underworld. My mother was Persephone, Goddess of Spring. It tugged my heart the wrong way when I thought of them not caring about me at all. A wave of pride immediately poured over such idea.

"They do care about you Zagreus, even for the slightest bit," he said as if he discerned my thoughts through my expression. "Yet, there are some things that go beyond what you gods can grasp and control."

"What do you mean?" his answers only deepened my confusion.

"There will come a time when you will know Zagreus. I have chosen not to interfere the fate of others. I only observe the events on my wheel, the rest is for you to weave. You may feel powerless now, but you will soon find a way to destroy the divine binds that restrain your power. Until then, I hope you have decided which path you will follow. The past, the present, or the future," his voice became much omnipotent, making me tremble. He seems to know a lot, but not all of it. It is for me to weave as he said.

I wondered in silence what he meant. What were these _binds_? His amber eyes glowed, as he squinted at my attire.

"The aspects of this time will morph gradually into your mind. At any rate, mortals will not appreciate your frock because it is not Halloween yet," he pointed out. I was surprised how he swerved the matter to my clothes again. In the back of my mind, I took note to learn what 'Halloween' meant.

He snapped his fingers and a bundle of clothes landed at my foot, "That will keep you in style as far as I am concerned. You might need the help of others in this journey of yours. The gods are not within those grounds, you will know why soon enough," he began to glow.

"Why can't you -?!" I exclaimed but I was completely cut off. I did not understand why I was being left in the dark that much. I enjoyed darkness, but not this kind.

"Do not sulk too much, child. We shall meet again," Chronos' final words reverberated in a whirlwind of dust and smoke.

All that was left for me was a bundle of random clothes and a heavy feeling within me. I could hardly make sense of anything, much less the only details I could grasp upon in Chronos' words.

I sighed, "I guess it is up to me to figure this out," I looked at the sprawl of lights below me. _What a great start_.

* * *

With the divine grace of fate, I managed to go downstairs and found an empty bathroom in the fourth floor. The tenants of the apartment might have occupied only the first to third floor. The rest were abandoned and grimy.

I bolted the lock on the wooden door. The bathroom had cracked tiles and a bit of dirt here and there, but it still had running water. I looked at the mirror, seeing my reflection for the first time is quite strange for me. I had a black hair, which was kept neat and styled in the nineteenth century sort of way, slick and flattened back. My eyes looked hazel brown in the mirror but then it turned to a glowing light blue whenever I look at it too closely. Maybe it was my human form messing things for me. I looked tired and worn out because of the dark circles below them, my excessive sleep brought much. My complexion was pale (like everything in the underworld). But not as pale as the dead, maybe I used to look that way when I was asleep. My clothes looked new and prim like a buried man's.

Seeing my ghastly image made me thought again of what Chronos said. I felt and actually _looked_ powerless. Yet, my presence caused some kind of disturbance in his space of power. Maybe that was why I was constraint from my power. Like a fool, I outstretched my hand, as if reaching for something, and tried to tap that energy within me. Unfortunately, the mirror was still intact, and my reflection appeared to be much hopeless than before.

I began to wash my face. I removed my coat and stared at my forearms. I was trying to find the binds Chronos was talking about. I expected to see a mark or unbreakable metal bands wrapped around my arms (which I should have felt if there was), but there were none of those. Even if there was such, I probably would have been unable to break them. I sighed and removed my shirt. I used to be lean and built (as far as I can remember), but sleep must have made me much frailer and thinner. Also, It must have been because I appeared to be aged down a little. Seeing my now timid frame, I put on the gray shirt Chronos gave me. I belted on my new trousers, black ripped jeans (it said on the stitched tag thing). He also gave me footwear, heavy boots with a bunch of laces to tie on, great, they didn't have this in the last century because people did not have the luxury of time to untangle and wound the laces. To avoid getting excessively cold, again not that I'm bothered, I don on a leather jacket with a hood on it. The jacket was much uncomfortable to wear than my frock, nonetheless, I complied with Chronos' advice. The last thing I wanted was people sneering at me.

My reflection stared at me. I felt weird and surprised at my new appearance. I could sense that Chronos thought black was befitting for me to wear. I looked more on edge and rugged due to my clothes and the general feel I got from my surroundings.

I messed up my hair a bit with a little water, just to remove its oiliness and slickness. My hair grew just a little longer despite of a century passing by. Some of it swept over my forehead, urging me to brush it up, I tend to ruffle it up anyway. I felt satisfied with what I have done, so I folded my old clothes and left it beside the sink, hopefully someone finds it for _Halloween_. It was time for me to leave.

The door clicked as I unlocked it. I could hear footsteps from below. There were shouting and loud music jumping up and down the floors, echoing across the empty space. I tried to minimize the sound I produced whenever I took a step, somehow, the boots made it a bit difficult for me. I rounded the corners trying to find the nearest exit other than the stairs that led to the third floor. I hope no one wandered in the floor at such time.

The corridors were very grimy. There were spots that were covered in green muck. The doorknobs were coated in rust. Five doors from the bathroom, I tried to open a door that had an 13 embedded on it. It creaked loudly as I tried to peer into it. Sadly, there was nothing but pure darkness inside and the rancid smell of the peeling floorboards and the old water from the pipes. Back in the last century, I had doors that lead me to various parts of the Underworld. These gateways were usually found in places linked to the Underworld. By the overall feel of the place, I thought it was bound to have a gateway somewhere. It was only a hellish feeling, nothing else. I should have known that it was much too easy to presume it.

I continued to walk through the corridors. Listening intently for any sounds, I heard the distant wind from the other side of the hallway. I slowly made my way towards it. The howls of the wind came from a window at the farthest end of the hallway. It was the only window that I have seen that was neither bolted shut with wooden boards or covered in grime. Its frame was covered with molds. As I approached it, I noticed that there was a sign that hang lopsidedly above it that said, 'Fire Exit'. The sign lost its neon gleam, making it much unnoticeable from the distance. I glanced out of the window; I had a much close view of the mortals below from where I was. There were no hansoms, no busy tradesmen, or even thieves that loitered around (or are there?). All I can see were bright lights that caused me to flinch. People no longer wore long coats, they wore shirts with different prints on them, some even wore strange suits. I guess time did bode with my memory, I gradually learned what these things were called and the place I was at, probably Chronos' form of help. But I still did not know what happened to the others or the reason I slept for such a long time. I tried to jog my memory for some kind of clue, to give me more answers about my location, but I have nothing.

As far as my mind allows me, I can only remember the last century I was at. It was during the Victorian era in London. I had different guises when I explored its streets. I can sense everything before, _death after death_. It was a place booming in commerce but was also littered with crime. I was the shadow that watched people weep for the lost. Then, I vanished – the point where I lost every memory of.

There were more noises outside. It drowned the eerie music coming from downstairs. The window had a landing on the other side that was unsurprisingly rusty and looked quite perilous. It was connected to a set of stairs fixed on the wall. The rail handle lost a couple of metal bars which did not reassure me that much. Nevertheless, I carefully placed my foot from the window onto the landing. It made a screeching sound that I hoped was drowned by the loud sounds coming from the street. I checked if the stair was strong enough to handle my weight. It squeaked in agony, but I took a step as quickly and quietly as I could. I tried not to draw too much attention whenever I passed the windows of the preceding floors. I did not peer into it, but I could see in the corners of my eyes rooms that were covered in peeling floral wallpaper. The inhabitants were grim looking families that were either huddled up on the floor or eating their meager meals. That scene was as close as I can get from the Victorian era.

I jumped onto the back alley of the apartment. Mice began to squeal and scatter upon hearing my presence. There was a huge metal dumpster on the left end of the alley. It provided no exits as it was blocked by a metal mesh gate. Cars were fleeting from the streets, their strange colors blending in with the dark grey asphalt. People walked on the sidewalks, chatting and enjoying their late-night coffee. I kept myself within the shadows so they could not notice me. The clothes were doing their part as I can see, though, sooner or later I had to show myself even if I was completely clueless about the place.

Chronos told me about a building. "_What was it_ _emp…emp_…" my memory was failing me again. Maybe it was an effect of the long slumber I had, but I could definitely swear to the River Styx that it was only _hours_ not an entire century. Chronos also mentioned about the gods staying in that building, could he mean their new abode? Even if I knew its location, I had a feeling in my gut that I would not be welcomed there. But it was more than a feeling, I simply knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

I began to trudge the streets, recounting what I can recount. I knew my name of course, I was Zagreus, son of Hades the king of the Underworld. Saying that out loud would make me look like a fool. Though, I wonder why my father had not yet communicated with me in some sort of way. Could I have been on his bad side before I plunged into sleep for that long? Then again, he could be around here somewhere in disguise. He could blend in with the mortals, watching. I could have sensed his presence one way or another, but I did not feel anything at all.

If he was around, he might have done a great job blending in than me. I still felt awkward wearing my clothes. I was in the form of a teenager, and I tried to mimic the movements of those around me. I did capture a few people's attention along the way. Back in my previous century, I usually had guises too in order to travel the mortal world. I was either a priest, a diener or an inspector, any job that was close to the dead. It was easier to walk in those streets because people were all grey and nonchalant unlike in my present predicament where I get stares at every moment.

Still, I was left to wonder why I was here. Chronos did not even bother to enlighten me about anything except nonsensical matters. Maybe he would appear again, if I could manage to capture his attention again or maybe there is a way to summon him. I have not tried that before, and I lack the will and power to try. I guess you can never catch time. I was feeling weaker at every moment. The soreness and tiredness began to settle since my stagnant state.

If I call back to my father, will he ever listen? I knew something was not right. I cannot feel any speck of power within me, yet, Chronos was able to detect my presence. Then again, he was bound to the space he occupies.

These thoughts progressed as I turned left on a street. The buildings had gleaming glass panels over them. Some were old structures made of bricks. There was a savory smell coming from the restaurants up ahead; the smell of pizza? The city lights began to be much harsher against my eyes. I kept my head low, thinking and thinking. Surely, there was some place here – a gateway – where I could go back.

I let out a sigh. This place was too unfamiliar. London would have been a much easier place to navigate in. Maybe this was a punishment, for what? I have to find the others, maybe they could shed some light on pretty much everything. I thought about the uncomfortable feeling I had when I heard "Morpheus."

"Dreams," I said under my breathe. If I could find him, maybe he could answer my questions. He must have known something since I was asleep for that long. All my questions led to an ultimate problem: how the hell am I supposed to find him if I cannot even feel my power or even bring myself back to the Underworld.

I was weighing down more impossible options, when a sudden movement caught my eye. _"Hello,"_ said a high-pitched voice my head. I was taken aback, I instinctively looked for anyone suspicious around me or if anyone also heard the telepathic voice (because why not?). Little did I know that I was not supposed to be looking for a person or an entity.

Standing in front of a shop window was a black cat, pleasurably licking its paws. It had an emerald collar attached to its neck with a tag that I can barely read. It returned my stare once it noticed me gaping at it, well you can't blame me, as far as I can remember, telepathic communication with cats was not a skill of mine. Its eyes were a pool of gold with a tiny speck of black as pupils. When it shifted its gaze, its eyes seemingly turned into a different hue.

_ "Did you just…?"_ I asked, clearly dumbfounded. I figured that if I asked it back in my mind, it would provide a response the same way it delivered its greeting. The cat did not stop from cleaning itself. I was deemed to believe I was crazy when it lifted its head again and began to scrutinize me with its brilliant eyes.

"Nothing like being judged by a cat," I suppressed the thought, afraid it might hear me. Out of all things to be afraid of, cats were not on that list, or maybe I should think about that carefully next time.

It purred like a motor. _"The mistress will be pleased to see you. Interesting, indeed," _it said over the purr. Its ears perked up, its tail wriggling side to side.

_"The mistress? What do you -?"_ on cue, the cat pranced towards the opposite side of the street, enjoying my utter cluelessness. I swear, I would be thinking more about cursing cats the next time I see them. Seeing my present predicament, I was left with no choice but to follow the creature. I wanted to find out who this 'mistress' was, and if she knew anything about my present situation. _Anything_.

* * *

It would have been easy if the cat just stopped in a particular place and a doorway suddenly appeared right there. Deep inside, I slightly wanted the black cat to disappear. It led me nowhere. We had crossed a dozen of roads. I was almost hit by a truck because I was too focused on following the damned cat. Come to think of it, will I be teleported back to the Underworld if I die? I can't be too sure. I lengthen my steps and stared at the traffic lights every now and then. This side of the city was much dimmer, I was comforted by that fact, at least.

People had sneers and frowns plastered on their faces. If it were not for the familiar police sirens and the intense music on this side, I would have thought that I crossed another world. Big neon lighted signs were floating through the dark streets. Clubs they were called. They had strange and obscene fixtures on them. That ticked me off, I instantly focused on the cat to get away.

The cat did not talk to me for the length of our walk. it was frolicking on the sidewalk and occasionally, it would pounce towards bushes and apartment steps. Its tail stood up, I thought we have reached our destination. We were still on the side with billboards and blinking lights. Then its tail swayed again, turning right on an alley wedged between a red brick building and a festive bar. The building did not show any signs that anyone was inside of it, the blinds were drawn shot and no light was passing through the windows or even the rooftop.

The alley was very dark except for the lantern attached to the far side of the red brick structure. There was no exit on the other end, but the cat did not stop or stared at the obvious dead end. It continued to walk leisurely, pleased that I was still following it. I would have abandoned the idea and go back to the main street. But as I turned around, a door appeared on the side of the building, right beside the lantern. I blinked, seconds ago it wasn't even there. Could it have sensed my presence? Maybe it was a gateway.

I drifted my gaze towards the cat. It planted itself on the spot in front of the door. It looked at me expectantly.

_"What is this?"_ I asked, unsure.

_"A door, obviously,"_ it retorted. It frowned and returned to licking its paws, finding it more interesting than answering my questions properly.

I approached the door. It was made of glass with a wooden frame. The frame had peeling purple paint on it. In faded gold letters, the name "Madam Fate's Magical Emporium" was embedded on it. The smaller and much crusted letters told me that it also had "And other whatnots". There was a faint glow emanating from the inside. I was not excited to find out those 'whatnots' were, but I grabbed and turned the rusty doorknob anyway.

The smell of strange herbs welcomed me instantly. The fumes spilled from jars on the wooden counter. It was situated at the middle of the yellow-lit room. The remaining sides had ceiling high shelves stacked with more jars and a variety of plants I cannot possibly name. I directed my gaze towards an old rotten shelf on my left side. It had all sorts of knickknacks like skulls that had jewel eyeballs, triangles with ancient inscription, five-sided stars, rings, masks, and boxes that bore "Ouija" on them. Two torches were now attached on either side of the door, casting an orange tinge in the eerie yet homey ambiance.

The cat came right behind me. It jumped onto the countertop and finally settled its place there. It did not bother to talk to me in any sort of way, a 'meow' might have been enlightening. I talked too soon. Sounds came from inside a doorway at the right far wall of the room. The curtains were drawn, yet I could see smoke and light coming from the inside. There was mumbling in short pauses.

The creature did not object, so I walked carefully towards the source of the smoke. The wooden floor creaked under my weight. I peeked into the curtains, there was a round table in the middle of a smaller room. Tapestries covered most of the wall, only a small bookshelf occupied the other side. The mumbling came from a corner near the table, not visible from where I was. I entered the room. For some reason, the light felt harsh on my skin. I saw the source of the droning sound. Slumped on a chair with her hands spread across the table was a woman covered in various sorts of garments from head to toe. There were beads and an assortment of jewels attached to her attire. Her robes also had ornate silver runes and alchemy symbols. Her table had a crystal ball at the middle (very typical) and cards with interesting characters on them. I began to remember that these were called 'tarot cards'.

Despite of my presence, the woman continued to produce her droning sound. Smoke came from below the table, spreading like fog across the floor. The table shook as she mumbled vague words under her breath. After a few moments, she slowly rose from her trance. The only exposed part of her body was her eyes and when she opened them, neither pupils nor irises could be seen. Her eyes. literally had drifting white smoke within them, just like the fumes from her table. I had noticed that wrinkles were apparent under her eyes.

"What is it that you seek?" she said in a raspy voice like she had just woken up from her slumber - which she might have been. "Tell me what you desire. I shall seek and fulfill it."

"Err..." I eloquently said. Sometimes you can forget the strangest thing of your life. I racked my brain up once more. I knew of this (do note 'knew'), but I was too busy thinking of a response.

The woman seemingly got tired of my hesitation. I did not even know if she can see me through those smoky eyes (that sounds so strange for some apparent reason). She was about to return to her state of mumbling when I interjected.

"Wait!" I shouted "I know you... you're"

The woman snapped from her trance. The smoke retreated from her eyes revealing fierce emerald ones. She squinted then her eyes finally widened in shock.

"It couldn't be..." her voice was no longer like nails on chalkboard.

"Hi?" I said again articulately. I was buying myself time to remember.

"Zagreus!" she said, quickly standing up. "Why have I not sensed you here?" she grabbed my shoulders and looked intently on my face as if she couldn't believe I was really there.

She did know me, yet I couldn't place her name. I knew she was a deity, of magic even - which was already an obvious thing to guess. Why did I suck in remembering names? I hope the cat did not hear that.

Suddenly, I dawned to me. "Hecate?" I said like I was asking her if her name was that.

"Yes," she replied, so her name is indeed Hecate! "How did you find me?"

"I eerr... followed your cat." I said sticking my thumb toward the doorway.

"Mandisa!" she called. I guess that was the name of the little cat. The creature obeyed her mistress and entered the room. Her gaze towards me did not change, she still bore the same judging eyes.

"You found him eh?" she asked.

Mandisa stared incredulously and nodded. She started to lick her paws again.

"_He was an obvious lot, wandering in the streets completely clueless. He had a smell_" she said in a telepathic manner.

"Hey!" I said. Hecate simply tilted her head. Both of us heard the cat loud and clear.

"I find it so strange I can't even detect your presence. But Mandisa here has a keen sense even I cannot predict. Don't you Mandisa?"

Mandisa purred proudly. She decided her work was already done. She trotted out of the room, back to her usual spot.

"You know, your cat has some attitude," I said after Mandisa left.

"Oh, let her be. She was quite proud to begin with. Maybe too proud. She can't go parading her pretty face now in that state"

" Wait so she was human before?" I wondered why I was surprised.

"Of course, she was! You go too proud and poof, you're gone. She should thank me I didn't turn her into anything else. Oh, I had plenty of ideas... but enough about me. Tell me something dear," she beckoned for me to seat down. I was not expecting a free palm reading.

I told her the first memory I can remember in this time, which was sitting on that abandoned rooftop. I told her that Chronos suddenly sensed me and began to give me weird clothes. I told her about the extent of my memories, which was not so much. After my narration, she paused and pondered. Her bangles clicked as she tapped the table.

"It is strange. How come time can sense you, but I can't? Oh, who am I kidding he's time... still" she was talking to herself, lost in thought.

"So, can you answer any of my questions?"

She froze at that moment. "I wish I could, Dear. But it is beyond anything I know of. Even my magic prevents me to do so. When you disappeared, I thought you were gone forever, touched by death rather than its twin. It. sounds improbable, I know but who knows really... I just can't..." her face twisted in confusion, or rather her eyes were. She sounded convinced by her words at first, then she had conflicting thoughts about it.

She let down the cover of her face and stared at me. She calculated her thoughts for a while. Finally coming to a decision, she said, "You have to seek them. Prove yourself worthy to come back. Find the answers. That is all I know. Someone would help you along the way, that I know of," she said it with such intensity that it bore right through me.

I guess Hecate wasn't much of a helping and sincere kind of goddess. She had the facade of malevolence on her, yet she cared about me that much to say those words. Something was holding her back that she did not even know of.

She stood up and was bound to exit the room.

"Wait, if I'm going to seek for them, how shall I do it?" I was hopeful to gain at least a speck of answer from her, but even she didn't have any clue. I was asking a witch goddess here, so I wondered about my chances. She could at least give me some advice or directions to where to go next.

Hecate pursed her crinkled lips, "I cannot intervene that much, but I was about to get to that. A few monsters are on the loose. At your state, you don't stand a chance alone. I have an idea to where you can find help. This may be the most awful idea I can imagine."


	3. Chapter 3

Hecate avoided any questions that addressed my present state. I had nothing on my plate. She did, however, answered my queries about the other gods. She said the Greek Pantheon started to drift towards North America decades ago since its civilization was drawing power. It worked that way as I started to remember. The Pantheon just moved wherever the power was strongest, like how it travelled from its origin, Greece, to Rome up until it settled in Britain, the last that I could remember. The gods did cause quite a fuss that brought the world in disarray such as the two world wars that claimed millions of mortal lives. She kept avoiding another one, a certain event that she kept steering away the conversation from.

Whenever she mentioned the gods, she said their names begrudgingly. At least I started to remember certain names because she kept ticking them like a list of people, or rather deities, to dispose of. I did not think she ever liked them. That was evident. Being an isolated goddess with transformed beings as pets was never a good sign. She may have wanted more respect, at least an ode to her existence as a goddess.

She looked at the pouch she picked up a while ago from the other room, it was glinting in a bluish color.

"I guess I should address the elephant in the room," she said. I was unaware of the expression she used (which I now know of, ha!) and decided to take it literally. I turned around, hoping an elephant was not actually breathing behind my neck.

Hecate rolled her eyes, I thought she was about to turn me into that elephant in the room. She let out a sigh of frustration. I couldn't really read her expression since it kept drifting like the smoke in her eyes, yet she remained in her old woman form.

"I cannot intervene on anything for certain reasons," she frowned "As much as I want to help you, you need to do this yourself, Zagreus.

"It is your fate to do this alone. I may not know much, but I do have an idea on where you can get help that might be much favorable to the gods," she said this with distaste.

"You must go south from here to Long Island, you will find a camp there" she said camp as if it was all too confusing to say. "The oracle of Delphi now resides there. You can ask her on how you can reclaim you place and even your memories."

That idea did not sound too pleasing, but I could not conclude so since Hecate was affected by her grudge too much.

"That is all I can say for you this is something too much powerful for me to break," she said, pity drawn in her eyes. Whatever I did in the past, it must have cost me a lot for even the malevolent goddess of magic felt sympathy for me, yet, I felt she was more than that. She felt so close to me. I hated myself for not gaining a clue of my past experiences. Everything that shaped my previous life was vanished, I only have bits of the world I belonged in, or maybe _once_ belonged in because I was sure that I was being casted off.

To shift my attention elsewhere, I focused on the floor, which still had smoke spewing from the table. I wondered why it still released smoke, Hecate was multi-tasking here with her props and all.

She noticed that I shifted to the smoke. She reached from under the table and turned a machine off. The smoke dissipated. Obviously, I gaped at her.

"Wait, did you just?"

"Sorry, I was too anxious to see you that I forgot to turn off the fog machine"

"The what? That wasn't magic?"

"In some way it is, it makes the job much easier you know. I need the effects for the crowd and causing smoke to appear can cost me extra spells. I simply can't waste my energy on such matter."

I did not know which surprised me, the fog machine, Hecate fancying on the idea of effects or the fact that she could turn humans to cats but did not have the effort to cast smoke spells. Before I can pursue the thought, she thrust the glinting pouch towards me.

"I know you are good in magic because I have thought you well before, back in the Underworld. If time allows it, maybe you can finally remember how to use these."

I opened the pouch, inside were pieces that seems to be bones shaped into small squares. Various symbols of witchcraft and necromancy. I can barely recognize some of them. But as she said, in time I would begin to remember them, I need to harness power to do so – which I barely had.

"Don't worry, its very own magic will aid you. Do remember, however, that the true source of it lies within you, thus, you have to wield the remaining power you have to unleash their magic," she said as if reading my thoughts.

"But… I don't have enough power to activate these all the time. You did tell me about monsters, right? And they will be right behind my feet because of the smell I had."

Her eyes darkened, "Yes, I have a few monsters myself, but they seem to be fleeing from my control. They have become more restless recently like something is stirring…" before she could submerge herself in a deep pondering, she reached for something below her chair.

I was slightly expecting it to be another fog machine. She brought out a sword sheathed inside a black leather scabbard. The sword was obviously unused because traces of dust were evident on the it.

"This is a stygian iron sword from the forges of the Underworld. Hermes gifted this to me because he clearly couldn't think of anything else to give at that time," she rolled her eyes. "I have no use for such sword, so I am entrusting it to you."

She handed me the blade. It felt heavy at first, but I soon grew comfortable with as it fit perfectly in my hands. I gave it a slight swing, the dark blade gleamed.

"Umm… so you do know how I can reach this camp you're saying, right?" I asked while brushing off the dust from the sword.

"Yes, I have this for you," she fished something from her pocket and produced a silver pendant. Embossed on the pendant is a six-sided star that looked like a flower surrounded by a circular labyrinth. "This is my symbol, a strophalos, my wheel. It will grant you guidance to your journey. My children are actually in that camp, present this to them and they can aid you later on. If you ever meet certain crossroads, ask it for directions and it will show you the way."

Hecate entrusted me with her wheel pendant. I was not fond on placing any accessories on me, except for my ring, still, I wore the pendant since it would serve as my compass to find the camp.

"For all it's worth, you're good to go," Hecate stood up in finality. I could almost see the younger version of herself from the drifting expression. She could indeed cause all kinds of confusion.

"This wouldn't look that weird in mortal eyes, eh?" I said strapping on the sword onto my belt. Hecate laughed, which was amusing and confusing to hear at the same time.

"The Mist, dear. The Mist. It will shield mortal minds from anything. Monster attacks can appear to be gas leaks to them. Your get-up would be such a tiny thing for the mist to hide."

Of course, the mist. Damn. As far as I can remember, I was adamant to using it to my advantage back then. I had guises to roam around. I did not fight off monsters on streets that much or maybe I did… I stopped trying to grasp a memory I could barely reach.

"Maybe we should get along on your journey," as Hecate said that, a black Labrador barged into the room, holding a newspaper in its mouth. It placed the newspaper on Hecate's feet and barked at me. It sort of remind me of a pet we had in the Underworld. Cerberus, yes, Cerberus! how can I forget him? Of course, he was more than just a pet. I was not sure if the labrador liked my presence but when it barked, there was a shuffling sound from the basket on Hecate's left side.

"Oh, before you leave, I would like you to meet Hecuba" she motioned towards the dog. The name seems quite familiar. The dog was obviously a former human, for what reason she got transformed, I did not know. "And of course, my polecat, Gale," a white snout appeared from the basket.

"Gale's been very afraid to come out since your arrival. But she'll show up sooner or later," she gestured for me to follow her to the main side of the emporium.

Mandisa opened her yellow eye when she saw us. Her tail kept wagging from the countertop. "Uhhh… why did you decide to call this an emporium anyway? Isn't this too small? You seem to occupy a small side of this building," I had to ask one stupendous question before I leave.

"You'll see," she gave me a wink as an answer. "Mandisa, would you be so kind as to accompany Zagreus outside?"

Mandisa was definitely not pleased to accompany me. She was as begrudging as Hecate when she stood from her post. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to take the door and leave.

The cat accompanied me as I exit the shop and into the alley once more. Mandisa looked at me one last time. With a flick of her tail, she disappeared, along with the actual building.

* * *

Time seemed to pass much slower in Hecate's emporium. The dark sky and stars were gone and was now replaced by a distant blue afternoon sky. Nonetheless, I wouldn't argue that the talk was quite lengthy.

I scratched the soles of my shoes onto the spot where the red brick structure was at. It was only moments ago when Mandisa decided to pull one last disappearing act along with it. I was left alone in my pleasant solitude. At present, I was empty handed of any information. I only had my sword, a pouch of bones, and a pendant. The symbol of Hecate did not even show a sign that it knew the direction I was supposed to go. Maybe it casted a projection of light or glinted; but it did none of that. Sunset was approaching and I had to move fast.

Hecate did tell me that the pendant would guide me if I encounter any crossroads along the way. New York was filled with them apparently. The symbol may be exhausted to its core before I even reach my destination.

I started to go back to the street where I met Mandisa. I retraced my steps, noticing that the neon and billboard lights were now turned off. The sounds coming from the bars were now dampened. The rush hour traffic was heavy. I winced every time the cars started to blare their horns out. The rush was felt even in the sidewalks. You could not truly tell what time it was in such as city because the same bulk of people flock the streets.

I never imagined a place to be like this. I never imagined anything to bloom out into something unimaginable like this back then. On the other hand, I was asleep for a century's worth so that made a lot of sense. Hecate did mention something about being touched by death and sleep though. "Could they have thought that I was already dead?" I pondered. A deity of the Underworld being dead is a confusing concept to handle. I could not really say the chances of it being true. Death did feel good to hear.

I finally found the storefront. It was a clothing boutique filled with mannequins and strange dresses, far from the huge gowns and heavy coats. I stared at my reflection on the glass window. I looked modern like I truly belonged now in this time. I wish I could say the same to the gods. I know that if I walked right into the place Chronos was saying, I wouldn't be welcome. I was not sure why, but a deep feeling of guilt formed within me. Was it something that I have done before? What the hell did I do? My eyes flashed a color, quickly dissipating.

I ruffled my hair, trying to shake my frustration. I caught a glimpse of a slithering shadow inside the shop. I did a double take, trying to process what I was seeing. When I blinked everything appeared normal and very colorful inside. The mist could not have been messing with me, I was not mortal… yet. I had to make sure there was nothing wrong – I should have done a double take on that too.

I crept into the store with stealth, trying to avoid unwanted attention. It looked all normal at first, the shop barely had any one in it except for three people I could see on the 'blouse' aisle. A sales clerk wearing a lilac blazer with a flower pinned on it was thrusting clothing options to two girls. The girl near her had black hair that had turquoise highlights. She looked like she was shielding her friend from the horrendous choices. The other girl had olive skin and brown hair; she was evidently terrified.

"Come on dear, try this on," the sales clerk kept insisting them, shoving a white dress towards them. "It will match your hair perfectly."

"I said we don't want it," the black-haired girl responded through gritted teeth. "The only thing that will match is my fist and your face."

"Now, now, don't be too brash about that sweetie. I still have options that you might like," her voice sounded oily and smooth – words that are not supposed to be used in describing voices. I scooted in between the racks, hoping she wouldn't sense me right away. She paused for a moment, sniffing the air. I could now see her face, a faint smirk forming in her red lips. "Let me ssshow you more of thossse optionsss I wasss talking about. Maybe you would think twiccce about choosssing that bloussse after all," she hissed. Her legs began to enlarge, ripping any remnants of her human skin and of her skirt. Two serpent legs appeared in its place. The sales clerk's yellow eyes stared frantically around as if searching for something. She could indeed sense me.

The girls backed away. They could only go far because the back wall was lined with shoe shelves. The brown-haired girl had the idea of throwing shoes at the monster. The creature only hissed and spat at them. "It ssseemsss that we're not alone," she said. I hid in between the clothes as I heard her slither on the other side. I was trying to remember anything about this creature. I must know something about it. Maybe I slain one before. Out of all things to disappear, why my practical knowledge? Time must have heard my pleas because a name popped right into my mind, the creature was a _dracanae_! They were half human, half serpent. I had to cut its legs off before it could attack the others.

"Lookssss like I have to deal with you two first before I catch any other pesssttt," she said and slithered back towards the two girls. I could hear thumping on the floor, shoes being thrown. I needed to scoot to the next bunch of racks to sneak behind her while she was preoccupied.

"I haven't had lunch in a while, sssince those pesky demigodsss damaged my kin, well, I can sssmell the blood within you making you much delightful to devour," she charged towards the two girls. There was a minor change of plans. The monster wrapped a scaly leg around the brown-haired girl.

"Celine!" her friend called. Celine let out a scream of agony as the dracanae tightened her gripped around her. The monster opened its mouth, ready to devour her.

* * *

Two things hit me at once, the first being the shock, second was the lack of game plan. I had a sword; how bad could it be? I mean the knowledge I could possibly have on how to wield and use it. The conflicting thought on the other side of my mind was letting the girl die. I knew I should not listen to it, but there was a dark thought all too familiar that protruded in my mind. Did I even have the right to interject someone's death? I was a deity of the Underworld; I saw ghastly faces of empty mortal bodies from time to time or at least I had. Such dark memories decided to resurface.

Whatever hesitation I had was immediately erased by the cries of the black-haired girl. Her extreme anguish and distress ringed across the boutique. My senses tingled and I quickly emerged from my hiding place. Another rack was right in front of me, but I could now visibly see the dracanae. She was wearing a golden armor from her waist up. She had a Spartan helmet, complete with the spear and shield. It might have summoned the weapons as I showed myself because she gleamed more heavily as I stared at her.

"What's thissss?" she shifted her attention from her meal to the racks in front of me. Celine was only inches away from the saliva dripping from the mouth of the dracanae.

"Back off," I said "and die" the urge to kill was tingling within me. I did not place 'or' in between, I provided no options to hold back. Maybe all this time I was waiting for such excitement to come along. I unsheathed my blade, pointing it defiantly at the monster, though it did not look menacing against the pink laced dresses in front of me.

Upon seeing my blade, the dracanae's eyes widened. It gawked at me for a while. As if renewed with energy, her face showed a smirk of confidence. "You have a sssmell different from thessse two. I'll like to find out why by chomping you into piecccesss." I was really sick of hearing that I _smell_.

Still gripping Celine with her leg, she slithered towards me. She walked like a human, but her serpent legs slithered at the same time, it was confusing and awkward. That did not stop her other leg from crashing into the rack. I dodged the attack and rolled onto my side. She was fast despite her big legs and weird walk. I had to attack from her back in order to free the girl, but that seemed to be impossible at the moment. Her serpent leg soon found my leg and was bound to grab it. Her attention was momentarily caught by the black-haired girl's shoe throwing, this time, she threw a bunch of clothing options in. I took the time to lunge at the serpent leg that was about to twist my leg. With a quick swipe, I sliced it off. The dracanae hissed then chuckled.

"Foolisshhh boy," the chopped off leg began to grow back "I have been given ssstrength that you cannot posssibly imagine. I have been given immunity and power because of the divine_ ssstirring_."

The dracanae did release an aura of strength so different, not that I could remember anything to compare it with. This stirring of sorts was giving her strength and power unimaginable to her before. I stood up and turned my focus on the girl. She was barely breathing because of the tightening of the dracanae's grip, soon, her life would falter. The thought of death coursed through my mind once more. No greater death would it be than killing the dracanae off. I still had not found the time to study the bones Hecate gave me, so it would be no use to focus my remaining energy on magic. I had to find a weak spot with my sword.

"Let me finissshhh up my meal before I deal with you," she raised Celine towards her mouth, her fangs prepared to slice her into bits – taking her essence. With that in mind, anger rose within me. It was a different kind of anger, like it had roots very deep because when I tapped into it, it set a wildfire ablaze. I could no longer think straight as my temper peaked through.

I darted towards the monster with all of my pent-up anger boiling. My ears could hear different sounds. Laughs and noises of slaughter echoed in my head. A distant scream drowned in the shallows. I lost control of myself as I charged towards the dracanae. It tossed its spear at me, but I dodged the aim, it barely missed my shoulder.

"You can't overpower me you fool," she said with too much confidence. I knew it had to end. She was wavering and she was not going anywhere.

I was now right beside her. She was much larger than I had imagined but that did not stop me from doing my next move. I jumped towards her and sliced her left leg. She recoiled as flames engulfed her sliced leg. I could feel the sword absorbing the energy from my anger. Before she could react and regenerate, I cut off her other leg, freeing the girl from her grasps. Celine's friend quickly rushed to her aid, cradling her head. She was saying something to me, but I could not hear it because of the ringing in my ears.

A throb of pain shot through my right eye as I drove my blade into the armor of the dracanae. I did not know how it penetrated the armor; I did not bother to care. All I knew that it brought me great pleasure to kill her. The dark flames burning into her flesh and divine gold armor.

Before she could disintegrate into her death, I had one last glimpse of my reflection. My right eyes glowed brightly with blue flames. She turned into dust with a twist of my sword. I soon dabbled with oblivion as I collapsed onto the floor, losing my remaining energy.


	4. Chapter 4

My confusion and doubts were immortalized by my dreams. My limited memories and thoughts spun in a pool of blackness. They swirled around to no point at all. Embers of fire started to appear from the pool. It dispersed through the dark like burning coal. It kept burning, bringing a sharp pain on my head once again. I waited for it to go away; for me to rise up and return to my much clueless state. It did not. A voice boomed inside my head. It was heavy and full of authority. My unseen spirit trembled upon its wake. The line of flames burned brighter and crackled.

"It seems you have not lost your touch, Zagreus. _That_ anger still boils within you. Whatever they have placed over you will soon wane out," the voice said, making my heart thump even faster.

"What do you mean?" my mind shouted. He answered with a chuckle.

"Your spirit is very different, child. Much different and stronger than your father. Turning that anguish into something powerful may not be so hard after all. Even before, you don't know a lot of what you can do."

That hit a mark, anger was rising over me once more. "Quit stalling around! Who are you?! And how are you so sure you know a lot about me?!" I shouted. That familiar pang of pain on my eye shot through. I might have winced.

"You are amusing, aren't you? I am sure you will know a lot about me soon. Though, you do know a lot about me more than you can fathom. I myself know every detail about you, Zagreus. Your fears, regrets, sorrows, happiness, anything you can imagine. I can say that I know more about you than even yourself!" he laughed again. A cruel and evil sound that reverberated across the dark expanse.

"That's a lie!" I said weakly. I could not think of any response. It was true, I barely knew myself. My will to fight soon vanished.

"I sense fear and confusion within you. You are right, the gods will not reach their hands to help and welcome you back. Such a silly thought it is boy."

"I…" my voice faded. The crackling of the flames overpowered it. He was true, I felt too confused that I fear what was to come. I let my anger fester me. I wondered even more about my past.

"I can help you. I have cared for you in the past. Your life burns within me like the flames of my embers. You might unlock your past, get your answers. I know that lock will break soon enough in your memories. You will come back running into my arms again. Just you wait…"

The flames started to lose its gleam. The rumbling of the voice became distant.

"This will definitely not be our last meeting. You will know of me more once you get into that camp. Do not trust everyone in that camp, you can take my word for it. They are now in some kind of grace from the gods, especially that boy, Perseus Jackson," the name left his mouth with so much distaste that it angered me as well. "For all you know, they may cause your ultimate demise."

He said those loud words with thundering power. The darkness swirled, engulfing the flames. My head pounded and the pain sharpened. I thought my eye was ablaze again.

My senses came back. I winced at the receding pain. My eyes dilated as I opened them to a blurry vision. I was stowed aside like a sack of meat in between some racks. I could see feet below the line clothing. The voices were like distant echoes then my ears adjusted. There were two female voices conversing. I could recognize their voices; it was Celine and her friend.

"Are you crazy? He's one of _them_," Celine's friend said, panic rising from her voice.

"I know, but we got to help him. He got out of his way to help us, did he not?"

"Yes, he did yet how can we completely trust him? The boy looked like he was about to burst into flames when he darted towards that monster. He can kill anyone right off."

I was hurt and irritated by her words. I came all here just to be doubted by a demigod whom I saved from a man-eating monster. On that thought, I noticed my sword was far away from me, propped on boxes of shoes. She was truly letting a point to cross.

"You must have figured that we cannot go off like this. Monsters are bound to follow us. They were right. We have a mark that can't be simply erased. Maybe we should head back to Long Island, to _Camp Half-Blood_," Celine said. That might be the camp I was looking for because I could feel pendant glow faintly. At least I knew it was finally working.

"Urgh," the other girl said, stomping her foot in frustration. "I'm so sick of this whole thing. It is not fair. Why can't we live a normal life huh? Not all of us are bound to fight off monsters for the entirety of our lives."

Celine sighed. She might have understood her friend's point. "Just calm down alright. We'll get through this. Let's check on the boy."

I instantly closed my eyes when their feet shuffled towards me. I could feel someone scooting close. I felt a hand on my head. The gesture of concern shocked me for a bit, I decided to quit faking my sleep. I opened my eyes.

The olive-skinned girl, Celine, was right next to me. Up close she had green eyes, much like Hecate's but not much malevolent, and a pointed nose. Her brown her was tied into a loose ponytail, evidently disarrayed by the attack. She raised her eyebrows upon seeing me awake, then her lips cracked into a smile.

"Glad to know you're awake, I thought we needed that ambrosia thing," she helped me prop myself forward. I could see her friend on the farther end of the rack. Her arms crossed, giving me a suspicious stare.

"Thank you for saving me back there, I really thought I was a goner," Celine said. Her clothes were a mess, monster dust all over them.

"Uhhh… no problem," I said because I could not really think of anymore articulate to say.

"I'm Celine… Marceline," she reached out a hand. I was hesitant to give her a handshake. I did not want to appear rude, so I shook her hand anyway.

"That's my friend, Sabrina," she pointed at the turquoise highlight girl. Sabrina was still shooting daggers at me. I did not intend it to be literal.

"My name's Zagreus," I said. Celine's expression changed; she might have found my name to be weird.

"So you're a demigod too?" she asked. Sabrina formed a curious expression. I did not let her take my word for an accurate answer. I vaguely said, "I am a child of a god." I took one advice from the voice in my dreams. I should not trust anyone yet. They might use it against me. I thought that answer might have addressed her question in some way or another.

Sabrina's expression changed again into a sour one. "You do know your parent, huh?" she asked. I was fumbling my thoughts on what to answer when Celine saved me from such.

"Err… please excuse Sabrina. She's been having a hard time accepting these gods. It was such as wild place where we came from"

Pretending I had not heard their conversation, I asked "You are demigods… the place, are you referring to Camp Half-Blood?" The name left a nasty ring on my tongue.

Sabrina let out an exasperated sigh. Celine nodded meekly, "Yes, we travelled from Long Island. We thought we could get away from the monsters, from all that fighting, apparently, we did not. We're barely out of New York and here we are," she motioned towards the mess.

I thought it was time to ask them about it. I was not keen to letting other people know my story but what choice do I have now? Following Hecate's advice was the only thing I got other than the sentiments the voice in my dreams said, which still made my hair stand up. If going to that camp was the only thing to bring any answers about my past, I was ready to risk it – not too much though.

"Well… if it'll be alright, maybe you can bring me there," I said. Both of them looked uneasy. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, Sabrina and I decided to leave Camp-Half Blood. The whole monsters and gods idea keeps baffling us. To be frank, we haven't been claimed. We don't really know who our parents really are," she said sadly. I could see the disappointment in her gaze. Despite my present dilemma, at least I knew who my parents were.

"Maybe… maybe you have to give it another try," I said, trying to be helpful. Sabrina let a "Pfft" out. How respectful.

"Well… we've only stayed there for a couple of weeks. But still…"

"Hey, I know that feeling. But for now, it's the only place you can go; where we can go"

"How do you know?" Sabrina asked.

"My dreams… they said it'll be the way. I can't remember much, but going to the camp might enlighten me," I disguised my encounter with Hecate as a _dream_. I did not want them to fret too much, especially when mentioning a god. Seeing their situation, they might not help me if I did so.

"Well, demigod dreams are truly _weird_…" Celine looked up towards Sabrina. They appeared to be having a silent conversation with just their eyes. They might have had those kinds of visions too. A staple to semi-divine people.

Sabrina exhaled. "Fine, we'll show you the way just to make it even between you and us. We do owe you Celine's life. Just don't step on my line of trust," she trudged and exited the door.

"It'll take a while for you to get the hang of her. I think that's our cue," Celine said as she helped me stand up. A bit unbalanced, I followed, picking my sword up and placing it into my scabbard before I left the blighted boutique.

* * *

The road we followed was not showing signs of any monsters at the moment. We swerved a couple of streets as people continued to pass by us like we did not exist. That sort of helped, though, we were distracted several times by car horns and incessant shouting. Killing the dracanae still unnerved me, I kept shifting the weight on my feet. It was also evident in my companions' faces.

Sabrina had a permanent frown whenever she addressed me. I was not inclined to pay much attention to her because she kept walking a few meters in front of us, uninterested to make any conversations. When we were walking from New Haven (they told me about the place) I finally had a look on her features, at least as far as I could see from the frown. She had porcelain skin. Loose curls fell below her shoulders, the highlights became harsher against the sunlight. Light freckles were strewn sparsely on her short and dainty nose. She was a bit taller than Celine, but her upright stance made her appear to be taller. Her eyes were light blue, and it gleamed brightly and cruelly. She managed to pick up a baby pink jacket from the clothing shop, though, it did not go well with her black high tops and loose red shirt that had a skull print on it. She looked like an assortment of color, all mismatched.

I really did not know why she kept glaring at me, she made it clear not to step on her line of trust before we left that shop. Well, I guess I have a line of my own that I'm bound to impose. It was difficult for me to imagine her ungratefulness towards me despite rescuing them from that man-eating monster. That made me much suspicious and distant from her. She probably had something in mind.

Dark clouds blanketed the night sky. They told me it wouldn't take long before we reached Camp Half-Blood. Celine was nice enough to enlighten about what the camp looked like. She told me It was surrounded by forests located at the North shore of Long Island. Before I can even raise the question, she said that it was protected by magical borders, both from mortals and monsters alike. She said this border was reinforced by the 'Golden Fleece' (I hope somewhere in my head it will ring) placed on a pine tree, that was once a child of Zeus. Hearing Zeus' name did not sit well within me. Hecate did mention him a couple of times, but after that strange dream, everything gets heavier and heavier to hear.

She must have sensed my worry because she said, "Oh don't think about it too much, I'm told that the girl was finally set free from the tree. I also felt weary staring at it the first time I was there..." she trailed off. I knew she had something bothering her, every time the story veers towards something about her family or the first time she arrived at camp, she lost the will to continue. I understood, I too had a lot to hold back. I was not willing to trust her with what I knew at the moment.

"The camp has a lot of awesome things in it, as much as I'd like to admit. It has an amphitheater where demigods could sit and enjoy the campfire at night. There are also arenas and a challenging lava wall, which Sabrina tried the first time we were there… it wasn't a good start though," she glanced at Sabrina, who decided to ignore the comment.

"If you haven't been in camp, how did you get that weapon," she pointed at the sword, "As far as I know, it's the only haven for demigods. Do you know who your parents are? You've been unclear about that when we were at the boutique."

Her questions made me anxious. I thought of numerous answers inside my head, but I went with the best and probable for the situation, "Uhh… I think it's not safe to go talk about them in such a crowded place. Monsters might sense our presence even more. It's best to address these monsters at camp," I whispered.

Celine seemed to be disappointed that I did not answered her question, but she understood it well, nodding at my response. I could sense that she was doubting me, then again, accompanying a stranger who just made a dracanae explode was not the brightest of ideas. She did thank me a couple of times for doing that.

Half-way into our travels, my stomach grumbled. Do deities get that hungry? Celine stared at me as if she too felt the grumble. "We've been walking for hours now, we should eat and take a break," she suggested.

Sabrina stopped on her tracks and looked back. "The usual place then?" she asked lifting an eyebrow. Celine nodded. I just stared at them, wondering what place that was. We walked a few more blocks until we found a small eatery that had a face of a man with a mustache as a sign. That was not convincing for me, but Celine motioned for me to go inside.

It was a small eatery. It had low hanging domed lights that made the entire place yellow. Red seats and round tables lined the right side while a counter and a kitchen occupied the remaining space. Sabrina took the lead and sat on a seat near the entrance. We followed as a young man approached us from the kitchen. He was presumably the waiter (as they call it). The young man was lanky and possessed a seemingly permanent look of dismay behind her thick rimmed glasses. He held a yellow notepad and said, "What's your order?" like it was already the last of his shift so we better hurry. Frankly, his yellow shirt had much personality than him. Coming from me, that was saying a lot.

Celine did not mind his low energy. "Regular, pepperoni, three sodas," was all she said. The waiter scribbled it up and disappeared again into the kitchen. There was silence between the three of us. Sabrina tapped her fingertips against the table, choosing to ignore us.

"So you have been to this place," I asked an irrelevant question to break the silence. I was never good at conversations, but it was best to work on it at such a time.

"Yes," Celine answered. "We've ate here a few times when we were wondering around town."

Wondering around town did not fit the picture. Nonetheless, I nodded with interest as our conversation died off. The pizza arrived just in time. We ate a scrumptious meal. Before I lack the time to say this, pizza is the most awesome thing I have ever eaten. Chronos was indeed right, pizza is magical. I was lost in the trance that I did not realize that I ate almost half of the entire thing. Celine and Sabrina just stared at me, wide-eyed.

When we finished our meals, Sabrina looked around, as if searching for something. She then slipped a green bill, a dollar, under the platter.

"That's the last of what's left. It may not be much but it's enough to pay. A deal's a deal," she remarked vaguely. "Let's go quickly before he notices," she muttered. Before we knew it, we were out on the streets, our stomachs quite full.

A strange feeling clouded my thoughts the moment we left. It made the food churn in my stomach, was I nervous? A dark foreboding feeling made my skin tingle. It must have been my thoughts because I saw a shadow fleeting quickly from the corner of my eye, right at the alley beside the eatery. I chose to ignore it and bury the foreboding feeling. It must have been my mind playing tricks on me after my long sleep. But the feeling kept coming back every time we crossed a new route, it was like we were being followed. I took a deep breath and concentrated. I could not let the pizza lose its magic.


	5. Chapter 5

I thought I wouldn't ever see the fleeting shadow again. Just us we got further into the Long Island Borders; I caught another glimpse of a glinting dark figure. It moved so fast that I barely distinguished it. It moved towards a lone narrow street lined with urban housing.

"Hey," I began. They stopped on their tracks and looked quizzically at me.

"What?" Sabrina asked impatiently, she wanted so bad to leave. We agreed that they would only lead me to a forest near the camp, I could follow the rest of the trail. Her almond eyes squinted further at me.

"Can we just check that street over there?" I pointed. "Just need to make sure we aren't being followed," I said in a low voice.

Celine understood since I had been telling her about the uneasiness I felt since we left the pizza place. She thought that it could possibly be weariness acting up after the fight. Regardless, both of them followed me as I crossed the street.

No one was there, only street signs and pedestrians seemed to occupy it. Houses did not have the dark gleam I saw, just lights that punctured through the uniform floral curtains.

"There's nothing here, _witch boy_," Sabrina said in irritation, enough to even call me 'witch boy'. The nerve of her!

"Will you quit calling me that? Calling me 'witch boy' doesn't make sense. It's not even _right _by all means," I retorted.

"I would, if you stop asking us to look at every street you see!" she shouted as she trudged off.

I felt anger boil within me. I was ready to turn her into a horrible beast if she was so insistent that I knew magic so well. Before I could go after her, Celine placed a comforting hand over my shoulder.

"Please do be easy on her. She just wants to get through this matter quickly, I'm sure she didn't mean to say that. Sabrina does have a rough personality, but she is a good person. Believe me," she said gently. My shoulders tensed then I exhaled.

"Alright, but if she does it again… I don't even know where she got that stupid nickname. It sounds so absurd and wrong. I mean how could a witch be a boy?" I added the humor to ease her worries. I felt it was unlikely for me to do such.

She laughed, a gentle and sweet sound. "You've got a point there," she said as we followed Sabrina towards the fields, surrounded by the lapping waves of the sea. The glade glinted gold against the setting sun. Violet hues danced along the orange horizon.

"That's your destination," she pointed to a hill across a forest. "Will lead you to a safe trail we know. Then that's the end of the deal, fair on both ends," she said it with so much finality. She was truly determined to leave. As much as I hate her, I wanted to know what made her bitter towards me, despite my attempts to talk to her.

Celine motioned for me to follow them into a rough path patched with soil and hewn on the rightmost side of the field. The sea waves crashed with the grey rocks of the shore, dispersing drops of water on our faces. I wondered if I was in good terms with the sea god, Poseidon (glad I remembered, but it didn't pop up easily, mind you), or if he too hated me so much that a sea sprinkle of saltwater would be much better than getting a full ocean wave slap. Then again, if the Olympians hated me that much, I wouldn't _actually _be here trying to pull my laced boots from mud.

To my relief, we reached the forest. The path diverged into another side, towards a creek. Sabrina and Celine followed the rocks that lined the banks. We emerged into a new clearing, surrounded by the ruffling leaves. Birds whistled all around us. Shadows casted leaf shapes on the ground. I could hear cheers and shouts coming from the hill where the demigods reside.

Sabrina darted towards another trail, leading to the left side of the hill. We followed in silence. All I could hear where sticks breaking under our feet and chirps that echoed through the canopy. We were almost there, I could see the pillars that said my destinations' name, Camp Half-Blood. I was left to wonder if I was welcome there or will they dismiss me for the mistake I have done before, which I didn't even have the slightest clue about except for the entire redeeming thing.

My worries were cut short. A sound reached my ears, it was like a whisper, an exhale. "Stop," I uttered. Sabrina glared at me, "What now? We're almost there"

"Shhh…" I raised my index finger towards my lips and motioned for her to stay silent.

She was adamant about this. She must have had it with me stopping them to pay attention to the strange things I see or hear. "Look here, witch boy, if you're going to pull this off again, then we better leave you here bes-" the last part of her sentence turned into a scream. A mossy skeletal hand emerged from the ground. It grabbed her ankle, pulling her off her feet. She tumbled onto the ground, clawing at the soil as the hand pulled her into the ground.

"Sabrina," Celine shouted in fright. She looked at me as if wondering if I finally decided to set my revenge in place. When she realized that I was as confused as she was, she quickly ran towards Sabrina. She grabbed her hand, trying to pull her free. Celine fell to the ground in her struggle to set her friend free. Before she could pull herself up, another hand shot from the ground and gripped her wrist so tight that she lost the strength to stand up.

"Za-zagreus," she struggled to say. I was too shocked by the scene to even move. I felt numb that all I waited for was a hand to grab me and pull me into an abyss.

_Destroy_, the voice formed a word now in my head. _Destroy all of them_, it said with much conviction that I gripped my sword. I appeared to be in trance for a while, trying to find the owner of the voice whispering in my head. Sabrina immediately broke that off, "Zagreus, you idiot! Get us out of here" that might have been enough for me to let the abyss swallow her whole, but their pleas made me angry towards the voice instead.

"Who do you think you are?" I shouted at the voice, though, Sabrina and Celine looked confusingly at me. "Stooping so low as to set traps. Show yourself!" call me crazy, but I sort of remembered enough of my old domain to know that slicing off the skeletal hands wouldn't do good for our situation here. It would only lead to more hands, and I didn't have the strength to slice through it all.

I was internally wishing that there were not many bodies buried around here. The fleeting shadow confirmed my worries even more. I saw it again from the corner of my eye. It swooped around me, circling until I was dizzy. I tried to strike it with my sword (great idea by the way) but it vanished, only to appear right in front of me.

A mortal would have screamed and ran away as fast as he can upon seeing what I saw right in front of my face. The shadow was barely a figure, it had no legs of sorts, only shadows that seemed to fade onto the ground. Its hands were long and thin like talons of an eagle. Its abdomen appeared to be a skeleton, or at least a shadow of one. I couldn't describe its face properly. It was like a mixture of swirling dark images, that formed into hollow sockets and a vain scowl.

Weirdly, it breathed heavily. Its breath was a mixture of acid and the smell of rotten fruit, making my nose wrinkle. It happened all too fast. I squinted at it as if remembering its name. In a matter of nanoseconds, it said "Boo!". I blamed my disorientation afterwards because I didn't react fast enough on that stupid trick. The ground rumbled more skeletal hands popped from the soil, sending me off the place I stood as it caused a wave, bringing me far away from my comrades. Instantly, I grabbed my sword, slicing through the skeletal hands like they were tall grasses that needed trimming. Despite my efforts, it kept popping back. It gained skin and remnants of tissues whenever it appeared back.

I tried to reach Celine and Sabrina, but the intensity of the pull from the hands was enough to bring me to my knees. I struggled to get up as they tugged my feet and legs. My sword wouldn't even cut through the bones. They were emitting the same energy as the shadow. They were gaining strength at every minute. I was overpowered.

If I knew its name, maybe I could have some power over it – which was an impossible thought seeing my state. I do not even know if the Underworld would side me much less controlling these skeleton hands.

"_Submit to us, former master, and we will duly bring you to him_," the voice came out as a whisper again, yet all of us could hear it. Sabrina and Celine managed to look at me incredulously again as they struggled against the pull of the hands. I really did not have a clue of what the voice was talking about.

"Him? Who is he?!" I exclaimed. The shadow did not answer my question. It began to emit a stronger aura. Its formed swirled, until a new one materialized. The shadow boded in with flesh, forming a ghoulish hunched body. Its hide was a mixture of blue and black, glistening like the eyes of a fly. Its mouth now opened into a wider scowl, saliva dripping off of it. Black greasy vulture feathers wrapped around it like a cloak.

"You must know him. He is _within_ you. Come with us and we will provide answers to your deepest desires," he said in a hoarse voice. I was pretty sure it was not used to talking, more of shrieking was its expertise.

"No," I said decisively. I wanted answers, I truly wanted it more than anything, but I was not going to trust a vulture ghoul to give me that. I stared at it even further, trying to remember its name. I was sure I was going to know the name for this one faster than the dracanae's since it was a creature of the Underworld.

"Is that what you really want, former master?" he asked tauntingly. I could gradually remember its name… it was a _Eurynomos_, the corpse-eating daimon of the Underworld. Their claws could inflict diseases upon mortals, causing them to degenerate and die. They would rise again as undead warriors, 'zombies' if you will.

"You're a Eu- eurynomos," I said, finally figuring it out under the strain. The grip was stopping my blood to flow, was that even possible? "If I'm your former master, will you abide to my wishes even for now?"

It chuckled, "You were, yes. You granted us great power. Quite unimaginable, yet you are now empty of that power, even the _memory_ of giving us that power. Our rightful master is providing us with strength beyond what you can think. You know him well. We will bring you to him, he will answer what you desire the most," he said. He was tempting me to come with him, to get the answers to my past; to a huge missing part of my life.

"Z-zagreus… d-don't!" Celine exclaimed. She was trying to reach me. The pull of the skeleton hands. I had to do something, but I clearly did know where to start.

"Hmm… if your incessant about it, my kind would truly want to feast upon the flesh of your friends," as he said that, more shadows appeared, drawing powerful aura around the place. Materialized into ghoulish corpse-eating monsters, only this time, they wore the vulture feathers as loincloths.

"Don't you da-" I was cut off by the sound of people running towards us. They came nearer.

"Over here Black Bird!" a young man shouted. He appeared just in the corner of my view. Before the skeleton hands buried him alive, I saw his appearance. His sea green eyes gleamed against the remaining light of the sun. He had a shaggy jet-black hair, and he wore an orange shirt, similar to the rest of his comrades.

He sliced through the skeletal hands, trying to get near us. The rest of the demigods shot at eurynomoi with arrows, spears, daggers, and glasses of artificially colored liquid. The eurynomoi simply yawned and let the dancing shadows that surrounded their flesh consume the weapons like a wormhole. I was amazed by the power it had. They might have been only corpse-eating brainless ghouls back then. At least, 'might be', that was only a part of a memory, not the entirety of it.

"Percy!" a girl screamed. She had blonde curls and grey eyes. Her run was cut short by another sprouting skeletal hand. Soon enough, all of the demigods where caught in a net of skeletal hands.

Even the boy, Percy, couldn't reach his sword – which flew from his hand when skeletons reached for him. He was completely pinned to the ground. I could see him wrinkling his forehead, as if concentrating very hard on something.

A wave of water from the creek came crashing towards the eurynomoi. They looked at it with wide eyes, then just stared at it - unbelievable. The wave hit them hard, getting us all wet with fresh water. The water was enough to disturb the eurynomoi. But they were not weakened in any sort of way.

They dismissed their state of shock by shaking the water off their vulture feathers. They exhaled, an intense and rancid smell that made us drop even more. The skeletal hands gripped stronger, hugging our abdomens now. I could feel something that tossed around on my belt. It was the bag of bones Hecate gave me. I managed to free my hand with my sword, only to be gripped again by a skeletal hand.

"Foolish boy, with our strength, not even the gods can stop us," he said "I'm getting impatient. If he doesn't want to come with us, then we should at least have our dinner. Finish them off!"

One by one, the eurynomoi jumped with their talon-like feet. They each took a demigod, scooting close to them, exhaling horrid breaths. Either I see them get eaten or be turned into zombies. None of those is ideal on the demigods' part. I summoned every ounce of strength I had. Maybe I still had control over them, if I just tapped into the energy within me. Nothing happened. I was running out of time. The eurynomoi were ready to consume their dinner. The demigods were screaming, trying to reach for their weapons, struggling all they can to fight the skeletons off. The hands continued to rise, they were now burying everyone, pinning them on the ground.

I clenched my fist. I cut through the hand gripping me, providing me time to free my other hand. I hastily fished through the bag of bones. I sliced the hands trying to hold me down as I stood up. I looked at the symbols, trying to jog my memory of magic. Finally, I stumbled upon a familiar one. It was similar to a small letter 'u', which – as far as I remember – meant destroy. But it could also be an 'n' which only meant 'vanish'. I was trying to decide which was it, but I really did not have the luxury of time, especially when the eurynomoi were planting their claws on the ground and opening their mouths real wide.

_How do I use this?_ I thought. I knew magical symbols but couldn't quite remember how to summon the magic from them. But there needs to be a memory of it somewhere...

The euryonomos with the vulture cloak looked at me. Ready to lunge towards me, he said "Devour them!" he was preparing to plant his talons on me. Before he got any closer, I tossed the square bone in the air on impulse. It did not release magic as easily as that. A piercing pain inflicted my eyes as I encompass all the anger I had towards the monsters, the anguish, the pain, and my remaining energy. I concentrated hard on my target. With one clear cut, I strike the floating symbol with my obsidian sword. A wave of blue energy made the ground shake stronger than before. The hands receded into the ground, some of them completely disintegrating. The eurynomoi did not have the chance to bite into their meals as the wave flashed upon them, turning them into dust. The lead eurynomos barely missed me with its talons, scowling as the energy swallowed him whole.

The wave vanished as instantly as it came. My mind became fuzzy. The pain in my eye intensified, and I felt a new burning sensation on my wrists. I crumpled onto the ground. All I could remember was Celine shouting my name… then all went black.

* * *

The void returned. Ironically, I floated subconsciously on its vast emptiness. Like a pulsating light, images began to burst from it, a pain cutting through my skull. I blinked as images began to swirl like ripples of water. They were misty and unclear. Maybe they were fragmented realities of my past or at least, they might be a reimagination of it. The images were too overwhelming, yet, they did not let me submerge into their depths.

As if on instinct, I closed mt eyes. I let the memory find its course through me. I found the earliest memory I could find – the only one I could reach. All of them were vague, but this one memory stood out to be clearer than day. I touched it; I plummeted into that moment, thousands and thousands of years ago.

The blur faded. I was in a large room with a dome ceiling. Echoes reverberated through the walls. I could hear soft gurgles of water from below. The obsidian walls housed several armors that hanged like trophies around the central fireplace. Flames trickled over the coals, giving light to a lone chair at the corner of the room near a large window.

On the chair sat a very beautiful woman. She had a tender impression; her rosy lips formed a smile. Her sky-blue eyes glinted – a look like she knows something and was eager to reveal it. Long and straight blond her cascaded on her back. Her porcelain skin glowed against the dark room. She was wearing a flowy orange dress – the color of autumn – leaves continuously fading in and out of it. A pitchy noise made me jolt and look at the source of the sound. On her lap was a toddler, probably two or three years-old, giggling. The child was wearing a black tunic. He had a ruffled black hair that were quite long and round hazel eyes that stared at the woman fondly.

My heart thumped against my chest. I swallowed the uneasiness as I realized who that child was. That was me, and the woman must be…

"Want me to show that trick again?" my mother, Persephone asked. I giggled again, amused at thought. I clasped my hands, waiting for her next act.

She slipped her fingers at the back of my right ear. She pulled a small red rose bud magically from it. I stared at it in amazement as she tapped the petals to make it bloom.

"You like that don't you?" she gave me the rose. I fiddled with it, curiously smelling it – its fragrance made me giggle once more. My mother lifted me and pulled me closer to her. I was now staring at her hair. The gold strands were mesmerizing.

"It's nice to give life to something, is it not?" she asked me. I stared at her with much puzzlement, but I resolved the thought by smiling at her. "You might even take care of my gardens someday," she added. The idea perked me up but I was much interested in doing the trick, so I reached for her ears, stretching my little arms. I must have thought of the rose very deeply to be able to concentrate like that. I successfully pulled a little white rose bud from my mother's ears, laughing joyously at my feat. I decided to attach both of the rose buds on my mother's hair, placing it like a clip on one side of her hair. I tapped both of the buds to make it bloom and glitter.

"There!" I said, applauding my work.

My mother touched the petals and smiled. "You truly are a gift, Zagreus. You truly are. I wish you'll stay this way. Unchanging," upon those last words, her expression saddened. She embraced me tighter and looked into my eyes, as if she was conceding to something. "I just hope you could"

The scene disappeared. I was no longer in the large room; I was back inside the space of blurry memories. I just floated there, staring at them. I was unable to enter a memory, even the smallest ones. I drifted in and out of my consciousness. I soon floated upon the space, like dreams swirling in and out. Until...

The other scene hit me like a nauseating wave. It was dark, yet flames lined the ridges up ahead. It appeared to be a cave, stalagmites and stalactites jutted from the roof and the corners. The crackling of fire resounded throughout the cave. The scene made every nerve in my body freeze. I could not understand how, but it simply made me scared and angry at the same time. My barely visible form stood there until shapes started to clear out at the center of the cave. I was looking at an entirely new scene.

"All I was asking of you was your loyalty," said a tall figure that stood at the heart of the cave. His voice was deep, taunting and hunting. The place seemed to echo his voice, which sounded like it was being drawn back rather than going outward. "Is that even difficult for you to give?" he asked.

I could not see much, but I could barely make out the outline of another figure, kneeling on the floor. "I- please forgive me, I am only doing the duty of… Kronos was…" the other figure said. The name raced its way through my brain. It made my anger boil to a point that I almost forgot that I was within a memory. I wanted so bad to pierce through it – to remember who Kronos truly was and ask these two what they know of him, and who are they to be in my memories to begin with.

The flames intensified, shedding harsh light on the two outlines I was seeing. A pang of shock clogged my throat. My anger was quickly replaced by absolute surprise. For a moment, my heart stopped to beat. I was looking at myself… someone I barely even know.

He was taller and looked much older than me, nonetheless, he was me. I felt so detached to the concept of him being me that I could not fathom calling him 'me.' Power flowed within him, power even I could not imagine. Was this truly me? It kept ringing in my head.

I was there at the very center with a much shorter and cleaned cut hair and a black cloak that wrapped around a glowing silver armor. My face was clean-shaven (as always). My eyes were conflicting colors. The familiar blue flames flickered on my right eye. The iris of my left eye was gold, that looked colder than ever under the dark and infernal flames – like a reptile watching its prey. My features were much sharper and defined. An authoritative bearing blanketed me, giving the entity in front of me a much harder time.

I cackled, a frightening sound that reverberated like mountains cracking in half. "Iapetus, do not try to play me, you coward! You have always been conflicted on who you should side from the very beginning you planned to overthrow your father."

Iapetus… Iapetus, my mind tried to grasp the memory. Iapetus began to shake on his knees. Both of his hands were planted on the ground, beads of sweat dripping from his temples. His lips were trembling as he tried to speak, each word slipping from his tongue like loose strings.

"I-I promise you I'll -" he was cut short by a sudden burst of anger.

"Enough!" I said, the flames were soaring into a high point. The entire cave grumbled. The echoes continued to go inward, like it was the one sucking the air out of the place. My lungs felt corroded and weak.

"Promises are instilled by weaklings who cannot keep such word. I will save you from the pain of breaking one. Perhaps I could be the one now to boil your flesh and feast upon it," my left eye glowed malevolently. The blue flames intensified. I smiled, just enough to show teeth that appeared to be fangs. _This is not me_, my consciousness told myself. It could not be _me_. This sinister form was only a dream, it could not possibly be real.

"Zagreus, please, hear me out, I'm - " his please did not made its end. I grabbed his neck, tight enough to make him stand. Iapetus was taller than me. He had a scraggly long beard and silver eyes that were now bloodshot and wide. Wrinkles were traced across his face, placing emphasis on scars that were embedded on his forehead and chin. He was gaunt and appeared to be much frailer than my present self. He wore a tattered purple tunic that was kept together by numerous knots. I could see the callouses on his feet and hands – probably products of constant labor.

"You did not hear me out when I cried for help within these walls. You did not stop and save me when you heard my cries. Now tell me, are you even deserving of my mercy?!" I shouted, shaking the entire place even further. My jaw clenched and my gripped tightened around Iapetus' neck, making him choke and claw at my hands. My stare turned steely and cold, like it was seeping through his soul. Even my consciousness shuddered. I forced myself to focus on the scene and attempted to jog my memory of it.

I felt the anger of my sinister form as dark tentacles sprouted from the ground, just below Iapetus. The tentacles grappled at Iapetus' limbs, pulling his arms and legs into the abyss that appeared on his feet. The whole produced gnawing sounds like it had invisible sharp teeth. The tentacles twisted Iapetus' abdomen, making me release my grip of his neck. Iapetus clawed on the ground helplessly, but it was too late to even try as the vortex of tentacles swallowed him whole.

I smirked, a thin line that wrought my pale lips. "I will waste no time eating your flesh, Iapetus. There will come a time for you to fully respect, and so will they," I looked at the roof of the cave, but my consciousness was sure that that was not the direction of my words. I was addressing a much larger force. I disappeared into the darkness… or rather _he_ did. I was much confused than enlightened when I drifted into the void again where my dreams and my past collided.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Percy's POV**_

We were having a peaceful and ceremonious day... or at least, we were trying to. When you're a demigod, you don't get to have this kind of day because you're stuck trying to fend for yourself from monsters and angry sleeping Titans. We've been fighting their forces since I got into camp. We lost and gained some new allies along the way. To celebrate our victory and honor the lost, Chiron decided to hold a feast and ceremony at the Amphitheatre.

Every cabin came in, their counselors raising their flags. Connor and Travis Stoll, who are only distinguishable by their height difference, paraded down holding their white flag with a gold caduceus on it - the symbol of their father, Hermes. Their cabin has been silent and nonchalant ever since Luke Castellan betrayed the camp to join Kronos' forces. Luke was there former counselor, and apparently, a former friend of mine. Last month, during the fight with the Titans in Brooklyn, he killed himself with the cursed blade, the knife he gave to Annabeth. Things were gradually returning to normal, however. Cabins grieved for quite some time, but they are now determined to continue the legacy of the fallen.

We marched and took our seats. I was alone in my Cabin - the Poseidon's Cabin. I kinda miss my brother Tyson in such situations. The other two Cabins of the Big Three don't have much either. Nico and Thalia were absent in the ceremony. Thalia's been the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, Nico remains an ever-baffling mystery. He disappeared soon after the war, probably off somewhere in the Underworld again. I'm worried he'll be much distant again. He seems to still hold a grudge towards me, despite of the situation, for the death of his sister, Bianca. I was truly sorry about it; some things are just inevitable. But I understood his despise, Bianca was his only family and comfort.

When you're a demigod, your godly parents wouldn't just show up to welcome you into their arms or inform you that you're their child like some prize on the lottery. No. It means you're constantly at stake. And your loved ones will soon follow that fate. I shook my head and started to shift my focus on Chiron standing beside the campfire. I would not risk going to that though again, it was too painful. Chiron was in his full centaur form, relieved from the confines of his wheelchair. He had a long brown bears and hair that appears to have silver streaks on them, a result of the last predicament, probably. He was a middle-aged man from the waist up, having his usual middle school teacher uniform. It would have ended there, his lower half, however, was the body of a white stallion. His silver tail flicked as his bright brown eyes addressed as all.

"Good morning to you all Demigods," he said in a wizened voice. "We are all gathered here today to celebrate the defeat of the Titans, who had for a long time, ravaged our kind and reaped countless of lives. In such, we also honor the lives of the brave heroes who fought for our camp and for Olympus."

Holograph pictures of the fallen flashed above the ground. The contraptions were made by both the Hephaestus and Athena cabin. The projections showed the pictures of our former camp mates vividly. I could see Charles Beckendorf's cheerful smile, Selena Beauregard's determined look, Michael Yew's Musteline-like face, and many among others. It was nice to see their faces again. It was never good to keep dodging the fact that they were now dead. Death is something that all of us need to accept. Though, it may be difficult for others. The burial of these heroes was commenced over the last weeks. New counselors rose to the ranks, given speeches about their former leaders.

Everyone was hesitant to speak, but they all wanted their comrades to be remembered. Chiron gave his own account of experiences with the fallen heroes. He asked me to give mine too, even if it was too painful for me to speak. Especially with Charles, I was never ready to address how he sacrificed his life for our mission. A tear left my eye just thinking about it. I still felt the guilt surging in me. I could have done something. The thought was dampened down by Annabeth as looked at me from the seats of the Athena Cabin. Her silver eyes felt so reassuring that my shoulders stopped to tense. She might have noticed my lack of focus on the ceremony, which might not have been that uncommon since I tended not to focus on anything. Still, she gave me an encouraging smile, something that truly comforted me. Then it happened. My mind was already racing fast when we heard screams coming from the forests.

The sounds that followed were like gnashing teeth. It cut short Chiron's ceremony. Confusion soon took toll among the campers. It wasn't right. I was confused as them. The war is over is it not, but what in the world was that?

"What was that?!" Malcolm from the Athena Cabin echoed my thoughts. I had other plans on how I should find out.

I ran towards the sound, uncapping the ballpoint pen from my pocket. Riptide shone in its full length, ready for battle. I could hear Chiron telling the campers to calm down, obviously, it was not working. I couldn't hear any sounds after that, I was determined to know where that was coming from. I was not going to risk another attack. Annabeth was shouting after me.

"Percy, don't!" she said in rugged breathes. I know I should listen to her, but my previous thoughts decided otherwise. I ran as fast as I could, trying to shake any feeling of hesitation. It triggered something within me, probably my built-in urge to dampen any distress that comes in our way. When you get multiple prophecies about your struggles, tons of death threats, and a spectrum of bewilderment, your head would surely be fired up like each time you hear a sound of trouble.

I reached the clearing slightly east of a creek, which I saw just behind a couple of trees. That did not reassure me, however, because what I saw was never in my book of monsters. Ever watched those movies where people's souls just escape through their bodies while they're asleep, well, these creatures were sort of like that. Except that those bodies might have been buried underneath the ground for a very long time and developed the usual black feathers. These creatures were lanky and ghoulish. They had talons and were covered in black feathered loincloths. Saliva was dripping from their mouths.

Before the unthinkable happened, I was able to shift my gaze towards the center of their spectacle. Three figures were wrapped in skeletal hands, clearly struggling to get up. Two of them, girls that I might have seen before, but I could barely even remember at this state, were pinned to the ground, each of them trying to claw their way out. The other one was a boy cladded in black, who reminded me so much of Nico. He had black ruffled hair and that feisty look, the one that could deliver death immediately at your doorstep (wow, that's detailed). His pale arm was now grabbed by a protruding skeletal hand from the ground. A ghoul was sneering at him, whispering something as it showed its fangs at him.

My feet catapulted towards them. But they could only go so far as skeletal hands quickly sprouted from the ground, grabbing my limbs. I cut them off with my sword, celestial bronze against bones. The ghouls were staring at the two girls like they were their most awaited meal. The one with the black feather cloak was preparing to attack the boy. To catch their attention, I did what I do best.

"Over here Black Bird!" I shouted as I continued to run towards them. The skeletal hands did not make it easy; I could also hear Annabeth shouting my name as our fellow demigods came to the rescue throwing stuff that they could get their hands on. As I neared the captives, more hands shot from the ground, ultimately pinning me to the ground. All of the demigods around me fell, I could see Annabeth trying to free her legs as another skeletal hand grabbed her forearm. Riptide flew away from my grasp; it was now buried in a mound of bones. The creek, I remembered. I concentrated very hard, trying to muster my strength despite the struggle I was at. The ghouls were now breathing above us, their saliva dripping. I can't risk them hurting my friends. I concentrated until it triggered the switch. Being the son of Poseidon, I was able to summon water from any of its source. Water came crashing towards the ghouls, impeding their future plans of having demigods for dinner.

The skeletal hands loosened their grip but as the water subsided, the ghouls only shook the excess water from their feathers. They went back to planting their talons onto the ground and leaning towards us. I was barely up when skeletal hands shot from the ground again, pinning me with a much stronger force. Another grabbed my head as if trying to detach it from my body. I was unable to concentrate and summon water again. I was going to be buried along with them. I was trying to put up a fight, I can't end like this.

I could barely hear what Annabeth was saying. She was a few feet on my right, still struggling to get out. All of us were now buried by mounds of skeletal hands. The ghouls were coming much closer, their mouths opening like voids.

Dad… please, I said I silent prayer. I hope somehow, he heard me. Just then, a slicing sound echoed, like the sound of metal against bones. Maybe someone managed to break free. But a wave of blue energy soon washed over us. It was so strong that I had to close my eyes and let the hands cover my face until there were no skeletal hands to hold me. The ghouls disintegrated; the skeletal hands returned into the ground. The screams of Black Bird echoed across the forest. My eyes were glued shut again until I could hear the energy receding. I opened my eyes, not even a hand remained. All of my fellow demigods were lying on the ground, clearly shocked by what happened.

The energy dissipated completely. I inclined my head to the left. I saw Annabeth on the ground, clutching her stomach as the skeleton hands returned into the soil. Her right hand quickly swung towards her dagger as she slowly stood up. She nodded in my direction to reassure me that she was alright. Riptide flew about a meter from me. I lost my balance when I stood up, but quickly regained it as my fellow campers started to stir from the attack that happened.

"What's the whole deal about that?!" exclaimed Clarisse La Rue. The daughter of Ares was quick in picking up her spear and trudging towards the crowd to find nuisance that caused the attack. I pinched the bridge of my nose trying to make sense of what had happened – how ironic since for the past years that was what I had been doing. Only a powerful force could have made that energy blast. A powerful demigod maybe, but who, I would soon find out.

The demigods quickly formed circles around the group we caught first on the scene. I approached the group, Annabeth by my side. I caught a glimpse of a girl wearing a baggy red shirt and a weird pink jacket over worn out jeans. Her black hi-tops were firmly planted on the ground. Her curly black hair draped on half of her face. Her turquoise highlights popped up with the paleness of her skin. She squinted at the crowd, her blue eyes strangely bearing a look of concern and contempt at the same time. Right in front of her was another girl, who looked quite familiar. Oddly, I must have seen her in camp (since all other places may not be that possible). She had curly brown hair and amber eyes. She had a less weird get-up than her friend as she wore a simple grey shirt and blue jeans. She knelt next to a figure that quickly made me jolt. At first, I thought it was Nico di Angelo. He was the boy from earlier! I thought as I gradually remembered. He had the same aura and same color theme of attire (black… always). He had pale skin and was a bit thin, though, Nico may have been much thinner and shorter. He was around the same age as I am. He wore a grey shirt, black leather jacket, and laced up boots. A pouch was hanging from his belt, a faint blue glow coming from inside. His sword, which I could tell was made from obsidian, lay by his side.

"Zagreus," the brown-haired girl said as she shook the boy's shoulders. She was swallowing her sobs.

"Sabrina!" I heard a voice said. I turned around and saw Connor Stoll waving his hand towards the girl wearing the baby pink jacket. Sabrina ignored Connor's calls. So they must have been from camp then, I thought. With all the stuff I had been through, I could not possibly remember the all.

Will Solace, the healer from Apollo's Cabin immediately came to their aid. He checked for pulse and placed a hand over Zagreus' head.

"He's still stable. That blast must've consumed too much of his energy. We should bring him to the infirmary. He needs rest and some ambrosia," he said to the brown-haired girl.

The girl exhaled and stood up. Before anyone could depart, something glowed from Zagreus' neck. It was the same color as the explosion.

"What is that?" Annabeth asked.

"I think… I know what it is," Lou Ellen, the head of the Hecate Cabin, said as she approached Zagreus. She knelt beside him and grabbed the source of the glow, a pendant with a strange symbol engraved on it. It reminded me of a circular labyrinth, which made me completely shudder.

"This is the symbol for Hecate's wheel," she narrowed her eyes towards the pendant. "He must've performed strong magic that caused the explosion."

"He must be a son of Hecate," Lou Ellen continued, making the crowd stare in awe at the boy. We do not get a lot of claims from good old Hecate, but her children were always a fussy lot. I admit, it was rare to see power that strong, especially from the child of a minor goddess – no offense, though.

"Strange," I heard Annabeth whisper. Before I could ask what she meant about that, Chiron suddenly parted the crowd. He walked towards the source of the commotion.

"I have somehow heard what the fuss was about –" he was not able to continue much of his sentence as his expression immediately darkened upon seeing the boy.

* * *

**_Sabrina_**

"Would you quit following me, Stoll?" I shouted for the hundredth time. That imp would not leave me alone. His voice did not echo back, so I leaned on the base of the tree again. I found myself near the lake, the old place I used to go to when I wanted to be alone from all the demigod mess. It had been weeks since I last saw the place, I really thought it would be the last. I wanted to escape this place, away from the fate demigods usually have. Even now, I did not really understand what this whole world was all about. They kept telling me that we were different, that we were not part of the normal world so might as well stay in camp where we could train for battle. Am I even one of them? I kept asking myself all over again. I left the place because I could not stand that question anymore. They told me I would eventually know who my parent was. I was going to be 'claimed', a symbol would appear above me when that time comes – a symbol of my parentage. But that time never really came.

It was two weeks ago when I convinced Celine about the plan I had. She was very difficult to convince because she was never really down to doing things that appeared to be 'illegal', but I wanted to get away. Like me, she was also an unclaimed demigod. She was the first one to arrive at camp, only a few days before that great war happened. She told me how devastating it was to be at camp during that time. Many had died and a whirlwind of catastrophe and betrayal happened before that. She could not truly get over the stories the other demigods kept telling her. She too thought that the gods would claim more of their children after the war, but that did not happen to us. We were the only two who were not yet claimed. Unclaimed demigods stay in the Hermes Cabin (which I could not completely stand because of the annoying Stoll brothers). Sure, they would treat us like family but there was still that feeling of doubt if we truly belong. Months past and we were not yet claimed. I was thoroughly convinced that it would never happen, so I talked to Celine about it – about the plan to escape from Camp Half-Blood.

That plan actually worked well because we found ourselves back in the streets of New York. We had a few close encounters (mostly with cops rather than monsters), but we managed to survive in New York somehow. We were planning where to go next. It was a complicated story to wind upon. Our journey was doing fine until that dracanae attack. We badly needed some new clothes. We plan to 'borrow' (Celine did not want to use the word 'steal' for some reason) clothes from that boutique, but the saleslady apparently had other plans. As much as I'd like to admit it, good thing that boy, Zagreus, came or we would have been that monster's early lunch. I still feel weird around him. I sort of have this sense that he was completely bad news. Celine thinks otherwise. She completely bought the idea that that boy could be trusted. I could not be too sure, though. I kept my distance from him, seeing how he would react. At some point, I grew annoyed of his presence. But with what happened today… I think I should learn more. He prevented another fatal attack after all. I just did not like the idea of trusting him too soon.

A rustle from the near by bushes interrupted my train of thought. I stood up, careful not to make any noise, and attempted to view what was behind the bush. Before I could, I quickly saw a rope hidden beneath the bushes. There was something moving behind the bush, but I obviously did not check what it was. Nice trick, Stoll, I thought. He somehow found it amusing that I was the only one who did not fall for his tricks. I was up to turn the trick against him this time.

"Hey Stoll!" I yelled, "Wait up, I have something to tell you!" I faked run towards the opposite direction, angling myself to face the trees. When I was out of view, I swiftly went behind the tree near the bush.

"Huh- Wha-!" I heard someone exclaimed. I circled the tree and found myself face-to-face with no other than Connor Stoll.

"I guess the tables have turned so quickly, huh?" I smirked, folding my arms as I saw the imp finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

Stoll smirked, which looked like a sad face because of his upside-down state. His mop of brown hair hanged like curly pasta. "I guess you got me good now, Anderson."


	7. Chapter 7

**Zagreus**

I woke up with a jolt. I felt like thousands of burning needles were digging at my skin. I was lying on a cot. White curtains divided me from the other cots on my left. I could see sunlight kissing the yellow flowers by the windowsill. I must have been out for a while. My head still throbbed from the strange dreams I had. They may be unreal, I thought to myself as I jogged my memory for the remnants of those visions. If I truly made such mistakes in the past, I did not see the chance of walking into this present.

I shifted my gaze and found Celine sitting on a stool beside my cot. She was asleep, her head lay on her folded arms. I could hear her faint snore. I found it amusing, I'll admit. She must have stayed beside me for a while, waiting until I wake up. I smiled, At least someone cares in this world. I truly hope those visions were not true.

Celine started to gain consciousness and I quickly darted my gaze back to the flowers by the windowsill.

"You're awake," she said, her eyes widening before she could shake her drowsiness.

"Took you long enough," I replied, "Err… were you here -?"

"You were asleep for a day and a half. I-uh stayed in to check on you every so often," she said as she brushed a strand of her hair away from her face.

"A day and a half?! What… was it that long?"

Celine nodded. "Will told us that the energy blast must have drained most of your strength. We've been trying to feed you ambrosia, but you kept shifting a lot while you were asleep."

"Will?"

"Yes, he's one of the camp's healers. We're currently in his Cabin, the Apollo Cabin."

Again, I searched my mind for that familiar god. Apollo, god of the arts and music, probably never got along with him.

There was a long silence that followed. I frowned trying to remember what happened during that day. We were attacked by these ghoulish monsters, eu-eurynomoi. I remembered slowly losing the battle, we were being swallowed by the ground. Until I cracked and used the last bit of my strength to summon Hecate's magic.

"You never told us about that," Celine said, interrupting my thoughts.

"About what?"

"That" she pointed at my pendant, which now hang loosely over my grey shirt.

"What do you mean?" I feigned ignorance. I did not want to explain much at this point.

"They saw it. One of the demigods did. Lou Ellen from the Hecate Cabin told us that that emblem on your pendant is a symbol of her mum's. The entire camp agreed that you must be a child of Hecate. Why didn't you tell that to us before?"

I swallowed the tacky feeling in my mouth. I never really told them about my parentage. I pretended to be a demigod to save myself from explaining what had happened during that dracanae attack. Still, I had a bad feeling that I would be in bigger danger if I told them the truth – that I was a god, a son of Hades, and I somehow found myself in New York. It would only bring more trouble if I told them that I was missing most of my memories – my past, so I did what I felt was necessary. I'm sure Hecate would agree, she herself told me that the gods might be upset with me… for some reason.

"I guess," I said, clutching the pendant. "These energy strains may have blurred my memory too much. It's all unclear"

"Hey, it's alright, don't pressure yourself. At least you know where you belong in this camp," Celine sighed. I could feel she was holding back something.

"What's the matter?"

"No…no… it's just that, I don't even know who my godly parent is," she sadly smiled, "I've never been claimed."

So that was why, I figured. I was always wondering why she and Sabrina ran away from camp. They were stuck in a place where their own origins remained to be blurry. They probably got sick of sticking around to find answers that seemed to be lost. I knew that feeling.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. I was not really good at comforting. I did not know the words that I was supposed to say. But doing that gesture appeared to be enough, until a voice was heard behind the curtains.

"I hope he is doing fine, Cel," the voice said as someone pulled the curtains sideways to enter. He must be the Will boy. He had curly blonde hair, sapphire eyes, and a flannel button up over a Camp Half-Blood shirt.

He shifted his gaze from the clipboard to us. I quickly pulled my hand from Celine and placed it under the blankets.

"You're awake," he beamed. Celine straightened up from her chair and faced Will. "He woke up a few minutes ago, I was supposed to call you, but I was asleep," she smiled sheepishly.

"That's alright, need to do the rounds anyway," he checked his clipboard then addressed me, "I hope you are feeling fine. I'm Will by the way, this is the Apollo Cabin. You've been out for a day and a half. Been trying to feed you ambrosia but you were putting up a fight."

"Hm. Yeah, Celine filled me up about it a while ago. Barely noticed time passing by"

He sighed, "We all are. It's a bit weird lately, not as powerful of a stirring as the recent war, but still…" he was almost lost in his thought until he snapped back again. "No need to fuss about that. You must be low on energy. I saved some ambrosia for you to eat," he pointed at a bowl on the table beside my cot. It was filled with cubes of yellow pastry. Food for the gods, I managed to tell. Being half-divine, demigods were surely allowed to consume ambrosia. A safe start, I guess.

I nodded and picked up the ambrosia. It has been more than a day since I've last eaten. Don't know if this will top the pizza, I thought. I could not even remember the last time I've consumed ambrosia. Probably that last century I was at. It tasted strangely like those dried pastries I had eaten back then. Couldn't point out when or where, just the taste. My memory keeps getting weirder and weirder.

"If you're up to it, someone's been wanting to talk to you since your arrival. Wouldn't be much of a conversation if you're passed out," Will said.

"By someone, you mean-?"

"Chiron, the head of this camp. Percy Jackson might be waiting there too. They all need answers"

Chiron? Percy? I gulped. I looked at Celine and she too paled up upon hearing Will's words. What am I getting myself into?

* * *

**Sabrina**

I wish these strange would stop. Needed a good night's rest but haven't had one since my first arrival at camp. This place totally sucks.

As usual, I had to stay in the Hermes' cabin. I left Connor hanging from the tree for an hour or so. "You literally spilled my brains out," he said after catching up with me after dinner. I was searching for Celine, but she was probably with that Zagreus boy again (just great). Travis, Connor's brother, managed to hear his distress call and cut him free from his agony.

"That's what you get for messing with me, Stoll," I retorted.

"I was just welcoming you, Anderson. Cheer up will you. At least, you're back in camp. We were all worried about you. Chiron even said –"

I stopped my tracks and immediately faced him, "I don't give a damn about what you're saying so quit blabbering and leave me alone!" I made it clear that I wanted to be alone as I marched off towards the Hermes Cabin. I didn't hear Connor follow me nor tried to talk me through. At least, the imp knows where to close the boundaries.

I opened the cabin and found that no one was inside. Everyone was out having dinner. Still no sign of Celine. I spotted the old bunk Celine and I used to share. It was in the farthest corner of the Cabin, a nook away from the gadgets and traps those thieves always kept. Before I proceeded, I checked the floor for anything suspicious. The Stoll brothers always delighted themselves to set out hidden fart bombs for the newcomers. I looked under the beds and scanned the floorboards, there were none. Hopefully, no sound machine would suddenly blare up.

I lied on the lower bunk, trying to reflect on what happened during that unfruitful day. The son of Hecate was now the talk of the town all of a sudden. So, my guess was right, he was the witch boy. Taking too much attention at his wake. I closed my eyes, trying to squeeze the frustration away. I was supposed to have a new life, away from this mess… away from my past. Now, I was back to zero. The throbbing behind my eyes soon calmed down as I succumbed to sleep.

Having dreams feels strange. It's not real, yet it feels real. It even shows the reality. I was back again in that dark decrepit closet. The old clothes hung from above my head, rough linen scratching my shoulders. I heard the floorboards creak. I held my breath – trying to calm my heart from beating too fast. He must be close, I thought. I hung tight to the tiny piece of string that I had, most of its beads were missing. But I still protected it like it held my life.

I know where I was. I was back in the old apartment in East Brooklyn. I spent most of my life here. My legs were bleeding from the leather that scarred it yesterday. He might be back, out to get me for not following the rules. I should not have crossed the line. He was out to punish me again. I could hear his footsteps. One… two… three, he was getting nearer… until his footsteps changed direction. That made my heart pound even faster.

"No," I muttered in bated breath. My fears were answered when I heard a loud lash followed by high shrills. I suddenly wished he didn't shifted directions. My heart kept racing until one more scream made me burst from my hiding place. Then all faded into nothingness.

Outlines of flames suddenly appeared. Rock spires lined the ceilings of what appeared to be an inside of a cave. There was complete silence, no one was around. Until a booming voice came from the depths of the cave.

"You've done well in handling Iapetus. Torment should suit him to better obey next time," the voice said, echoing across the vast space.

"That wouldn't last for an eternity," someone replied. The voice sounded strangely familiar, but I could not quite place it. It was confident and deep, filled with power that made my nerves clench. I saw a fleeting shadow in the voice's direction. The only bright blue glow of his eyes pinpointed his direction. "We need them after all. Thorough plans lead to fruitful outcomes. Disciplining them is the only way to get through with that"

The voice from the cave chuckled. "I was not wrong in keeping your heart. You will always find your roots. Always…" the voice receded, so did my vision. Everything swirled, until it was all gone.

The sound it made jolted me back to consciousness. I panted, placing a hand on my chest to steady my breath. I could hear the soft snores of everyone in the cabin. The light was off, only bedside lamps lit up the space. I checked the top bunk. Celine was fast asleep, cuddling her old fuzzy blanket.

At least she's back, I sighed and placed on my shoes. I needed some fresh air, being stuffed inside a cabin would obviously not give me that. I knew exactly where to go as I headed towards the river.


	8. Chapter 8

**Zagreus**

Sleep didn't call me this time. I truly had too much of it these days. Being in the Hecate Cabin was not helpful either. They kept quizzing me about the bones I had and how I summoned the that energy blast two days ago.

I fiddled with the pendant between my fingers. It saved me, yes, and it brought me trouble too. I kept thinking about the conversation I had with Chiron. He seemed distant and unconvinced of what I was saying. Yet, he was very certain in answering, sympathizing with my vague memories. He too agrees that I was a child of Hecate. Or at least, 'appeared' to be convinced. There's much to know about his slight indifference.

Percy Jackson was a different story. He was with Chiron when I entered the Big House. I've learned that he was the son of Poseidon – one of my father's brothers, the god of the sea. That explained the wave that washed the eurynomoi. The boy exuded a lot of power, which raised my defenses immediately. I was not keen on trusting him just yet.

There must have been a god directing the camp too because when I pointed out the grape vines and the strange décor in the living room, Percy told me that it was 'Mr.D's'. Chirons did not want him to elaborate on that as I may seem to be an 'awkward' conversation. I didn't push my luck.

Before Percy and I left, Chiron told us about a feeling that something is stirring. Percy froze but Chiron shook his head. "It may not be the time for that, Percy. Nonetheless, we must always remain guarded. Enemies may be lurking close," at that last sentence, he gave a quick suspicious look at me and bid us good-bye.

I guess we couldn't fully trust one another in this place. Hecate was so wrong. But she said that the answers would lie here – that I must consult the oracle. Annabeth did tell me about the red-headed girl that resided in a cave within the camp. She was the recent host of the Oracle of Delphi (which I would soon look-up). I must consult her tomorrow to get this over with.

I sighed flipping the emblem up to see the faint glow it had against the silver. If Hecate was right, then I must truly seek the gods, whatever it takes. But so far, my dreams were only leading me to a dark side of my past.

_ Cluck_… a pebble hopped across the river. _Cluck_… another one followed. I looked around to see who the thrower was. I spotted a silhouette by a nearby oak tree. Walking silently, I approached the figure, ignoring the distant giggles of the wood nymphs.

I hid behind the trees until I could see who the figure was. The turquoise highlights gave it away. Sabrina now wore a loose lilac sweatshirt. Her pants were baggy, and she was still wearing the same black high-tops.

She hugged her legs as she threw another pebble across the water. "Can't sleep?" I began, it was not a great conversation starter, especially with Sabrina.

"Go away, witch boy, not in the mood for your nonsense," she threw another pebble much harder this time.

I was not keen on going back to the cabin so I figured that spending some time with spiteful Sabrina should coax me to going back. I rolled my eyes, "Neither do I," I said as I sat that beside her. She glared at me and continue to throw her pebbles. "One of these might hit you soon enough"

"Then I better intercept it," I said as I hurled a pebble that clashed with the pebble she threw. "Bulls-eye" (my vocabulary was adapting quickly).

She snorted. "I wish we would've intercepted that attack. Then, Celine and I wouldn't be stuck here for the rest of who knows when"

"The attack was clearly uncalled for. We were not aware that they were following us. If you listened –"

"Look, I'm not here to argue. But what's the deal with those ghoul things? I heard they called you there former master or something. I swear if you're responsible for that…" her message was clear when she took a rock and hurled it farther down the river.

"I clearly don't know what they were talking about. I too thought it was a trick, so I stalled them by playing"

"That clearly didn't work. You might be a monster summoning witch or something even more terrible"

I hate that she kept calling me a _witch_. "If I summoned them, why would I waste my energy killing them with magic?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe a decoy or an illusion for your set-up"

I sighed, there was no use to getting through her. Might as well tell her what happened to me before I met them. She wouldn't believe it anyway.

"I wish I could answer your questions. But I can't even figure out my past. A day before I met you two, I woke up on a rooftop in New York city with no recollection of what happened to me before that," I decided to leave out the part where I met Chronos - that may be too tricky to explain since they know me as a demigod.

"I wandered the streets until a telepathic cat -," Sabrina slightly giggled at that part. She was looking away, pretending not to listen, but I could see her lips shaping into a smile. She was less terrifying that way. "- led me to Hecate, strange how she suddenly appeared literally out of nowhere. She told me that going to Camp Half-Blood would be the only way to figure things out. She herself cannot provide the answers for me. Err… you know how gods are," I added that part to throw my scent off.

"Well, lucky you, I don't really know what they are," she threw another pebble. "Probably an illusion these kids believe in."

That was a wrong call, I shouldn't have said that. Being unclaimed was not something she was obviously proud of. I wonder what her mortal parent was like, was she supposed to come back to her mortal life?

"I never asked this, but where were you and Celine going when I saw you in New York?"

"Somewhere we ourselves are uncertain of. Far from this place…" she said the last word as if Camp Half-Blood was not the only place she wanted to get away from.

"I guess you held on that new beginning," I said softly but she caught my words.

"And you were out to get answers," she scoffed, "yeah, witch boy"

The sun was rising over the horizon. The stars began to disappear as purple and orange colors began to spill. Sabrina's eyes remained glued at the other direction, clearly contemplating.

"Time goes very fast, huh?" I stood up, "Guess they would be awake soon, better return soon before more questions are asked"

"Hey, urmm…" Sabrina said as I was turning to leave.

"Hmm?" I asked

"Th-thanks for saving Celine and I at the boutique and even back there with those ghoul things. Even just saving Celine. It was a close call. Thank you."

Those last words took me aback. "Err… sure… uhh, no problem," I was getting great with composing sentences.

"Don't fluster yourself, witch boy. I'm still going to kick your sorry butt if I find out more about it"

The shock on my face must've made her smile. She might have understood my explanation after reflecting upon it. She is truly unpredictable. Turning around, I managed to smile too. Beyond the trees, I saw some of the campers exiting their cabins. _She definitely looks less terrifying when she smiles. _


	9. Chapter 9

_**Annabeth**_

"Hey, thanks for helping me with these," I said, pointing towards the stack of blueprints that I had for the Mount Olympus project. I made copies of it from Daedalus' laptop, which was one of the few things that survived from the fire in the labyrinth. I kept it with for the majority of the time soon after. Its blue delta logo gleamed as I closed it shut, facing my companion.

"No problem, I-I kinda like to look through these kinds of stuff once in a while," Celine said, as she grabbed the blueprint that I had for Aphrodite's fountain.

"So it's one of your interests, huh?" I knew she was quite familiar when I saw her after the attack of those ghoulish monsters – the eurynomoi (which I was quick to find out). I figured she was one of the demigods who came to camp when we were just a few days recovering from the titan war. I was too busy attending to other matters that I failed to talk to the newbies at camp. I was not near a cheery mood during those times to even welcome anyone, really.

"I've always found architecture to be quite fascinating. Maybe I'm just looking through things that might ring a bell. But I do hope Athena could be my mom," she smiled wistfully.

"And I'd be glad to welcome you to the cabin. It's nice of you to come around anyway. Malcolm wouldn't help scan these prints. He has his own designs going with the Hephaestus kids. As for Percy, well, this just screams boring to him," I rolled my eyes. Percy and I have known each other for a long time. Up until recently, we started dating. I guess years battling monsters and escaping death can do that. We bonded most of the time, but when it came to these technical things, he would often lose interest and say that someone was calling him, so 'he had to run'. He could have had a much creative excuse.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything. Percy is an interesting demigod, I heard he summoned that wave during the attack. I've heard his name a lot when I came here, but never really got a chance to talk to him. He seems to be always out and about"

"Tell me about it," I sighed, "He had some deals to accomplish after the war. He's approachable and really friendly once you get to know him. Though, he can be a Seaweed brain at times," I said as I piled up the blueprints.

Celine laughed softly at the comment. "Your friend was quite powerful too, you know," I said to break the silence, "he managed to send that powerful blast that destroyed the eurynomoi"

"Zagreus? Oh yes, it was truly shocking when he did that. It scared me a bit though, we were worried that it would drain him completely since he also saved us from the dracanae in New York…" she was lost in thought.

Celine told me about how she and Sabrina managed to escape camp, which I did not reprimand her from doing so because (1) they had their reasons to and (2) who am I to speak? I sneaked out of camp every now and then since meeting Percy. I knew it was an unsafe world for them outside, but so was camp. It was still etched in my mind how we lost our fellow demigods during the war. Some of them were really close friends that we could only honor during ceremonies. Our fate was in a constant loop of. I thought it was the end of it, until another prophecy was issued. The Prophecy of Seven, which Apollo told us that it may not come true right away since it took decades before the first prophecy was even completed. With the events that happened in the past, I truly doubt that. Fate was unpredictable. As it was for Celine and Sabrina.

"So this boy, you met him while you were in New York, huh?" I inquired to loosen her from her train of thought.

"Huh? Uhh… yes. We were in a boutique, you see, trying to err… borrow some clothes. This salesclerk was insisting us to try on a dress then she suddenly transformed into that snake monster," Celine shuddered as she recalled it. I had bad experiences with creepy persuasive ladies so as with dracaenae.

"W-we were about to be eaten alive when Zagreus suddenly appeared, killing the monster off with his sword. He also collapsed after that battle. That's when we decided to take him here, since we knew he might be one of us. He told us he was looking for Camp too, so we agreed to accompany him here…"

She cut the story short there._ Still though, how strange,_ I thought. Demigods usually had satyr companions that bring them to camp once it is the right time for them to. Then again, the satyrs might have still been recovering from the blow. I haven't seen our friend Grover for weeks now. I dismissed such thoughts, there were always strange occurrences around.

Celine opted to look through my notes about the blueprints. She scanned them then placed them inside the separate folders I laid in front of us. I really wanted the prints to be organized, though, sooner or later it would not be.

"Where should I placed these?" she asked.

"Over there," I said as I opened Daedalus' laptop again. I pointed to the set of draws beside my bunk.

Celine opened the drawers and placed the folders in. something may have caught her eye because when I looked up from the laptop, I saw her holding a three-fold brochure. I squinted at the images in front of it. _Pictures of hunting maidens_… I silently cussed in Greek. Percy's going to get mad at me if he finds out that I kept the brochure. I was not intending to keep it. I just kept it for some reason…

"What's this?" Celine asked, clearly drawn to the offers of the brochure.

"Uhh…" I jumped from my seat and approached her, "That's a-a brochure from the Hunters of Artemis, you know those err… maiden hunters who serve the Goddess of the Moon and Hunt," I was out of words for a decent explanation, which was truly so unlike me.

Celine continued to scan the brochure. The 'CHOICE FOR THE FUTURE' text was clearly screaming at her. Inside were more pictures of hunters chasing monsters and shooting bows. The captions were: 'HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!'

"I do not know if you have ever heard of them, but as I have said, they are the loyal followers of the Goddess Artemis. In order to join the hunt, they must commit to celibacy, in exchange of sisterhood and immortality," I managed to say as I noticed her curiously reading the offers.

"Oh," she finally said, "That's quite a deal, huh? Why do you have this with you though?"

"Well, the hunters actually offered me to join them. But I declined, you may know the reason," I smiled sheepishly.

"I understand," she said as she set the brochure onto the table.

"Err… you could keep it!" I said impulsively, "or you could just throw it away, I won't be needing it anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure" I finally said with confidence. _I won't be needing it._

"I'll dispose it for you then," Celine said. She crumpled the brochure inside her pocket.

"Well," I sighed "This has been an interesting morning. I need to head to the Big House to meet Percy soon."

"I need to run some errands too. See you later then," Celine beamed as she closed the door behind her.

I exhaled and continued to retrieve the files from Daedalus' laptop


End file.
